


Sending Out An...

by ArabellaFaith



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2017-09-24
Packaged: 2018-12-20 19:58:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 46,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11928153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArabellaFaith/pseuds/ArabellaFaith
Summary: Otabek picks Yuri up on a street corner.  He was expecting a simple exchange. What he wasn't expecting was for Yuri to become a fixture in his life. And he really wasn't expecting Yuri to save him from himself.AU where Yuri is turning tricks to pay for college, and Otabek is a rich novelist. Lots of sexy times ensue.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just FYI, if this story looks familiar, it is! The story is unchanged, but has been retitled from its original S.O.S. to avoid confusion with my published novel of the same name.

Yuri fingered the pepper spray in his back pocket as he watched the figure approach.  It probably wouldn’t afford him the same protection as a gun or knife might, but it had served him well in the past and he didn’t have to worry about accidentally killing anyone.  Though at this point, he couldn’t be sure that the guy walking towards him didn’t plan to try and kill  _ him _ .

 

He’d seen the same man three times now in as many nights, and Yuri had begun to wonder if he wasn’t being stalked.  It wouldn't be the first time he’d run into trouble on the street, and he was sure it wouldn’t be the last.  Still, it paid to play it safe, so he slipped the pepper spray into his palm as the man finally walked up to him.

 

“I want to buy the rest of the night,” he said abruptly.  His deep voice was scratchy, as if it hadn’t been used in a long time.  Yuri stared at him for a moment, finally able to see the man up close.  He was taller than Yuri, but considering how easy that was to do, Yuri guessed he wasn’t overly tall by normal standards.  His black hair looked like it had once been done in an undercut, but was now shaggy and swiped away from his face haphazardly.  Yuri could tell his clothes were well made, but they were also wrinkled and vaguely offensively smelling.  The body beneath the clothes was almost worryingly built.  In another situation it might have been attractive, but from a customer, it turned the big hands resting casually by his sides into weapons.

 

He almost turned the guy down and high tailed it out of there.  Something was definitely off, and it wasn’t worth the risk.  But one look into the stranger’s eyes stopped him.  Yuri didn’t believe that the eyes were the window to the soul or whatever romantic bullshit people spewed, but he  _ was _ pretty damn good at reading people.  This guy didn’t look vicious or violent at all.  He looked… sad.  And maybe even a little nervous under that stoic exterior.

 

“You haven’t asked how much,” he said, still keeping the pepper spray handy in case it turned out this guy was just really good at hiding his crazy.  The man shrugged.

 

“Doesn’t matter.”

 

Dollar signs and red flags popped up in Yuri’s head simultaneously.  Either this guy had no intention of paying him, or he was loaded and didn’t care how much Yuri gouged him.  “It matters a whole fucking lot to me, especially if you don’t plan to pay me at all.”  A line appeared between the man’s eyebrows, as if he hadn’t considered that.

 

“What if I pay you first?”

 

“You could beat the shit out of me after and take it back.”

 

He look offended.  “Are you this suspicious of all your customers?”

 

“Only the ones who claim they don’t care how much I charge them and want me to go off to god-knows-where with them.”

 

“Do you have a friend or… colleague you can tell where you’re going?  That would prove that I’m not going to kill you or something, right?”

 

“That might work,” Yuri said hesitantly.  He didn’t really have any  _ friends _ that would come looking for him if something happened, but he could always send a message to himself and the guy would never know.  Plus, the fact that he’d come up with the idea at all told Yuri that he  _ probably _ didn’t have nefarious intentions.  “But we still haven’t agreed on a price.”

 

“So how much?”

 

“How much are you willing to pay?”  

 

The man huffed impatiently.  “I’ve never hired a whore before.  I don’t know the going rates.”

 

“Then you won’t know if I’m ripping you off.”

 

“As long as I get to fuck you, it won’t be a rip off.”  His eyes strayed tellingly down Yuri’s body.  Yuri calculated quickly.  Normally he charged a hundred for a quickie in the alley, and double that for anything more involved.  But that was under the assumption that he would be getting more customers after he was done.  If he would be staying the night with this guy, he wouldn’t be making anything more…

 

“A thousand,” he finally said.  The guy would probably balk, and they would haggle it down to-

 

“Fine.”

 

Yuri’s eyes widened in shock.  “In cash,” he clarified, just in case.

 

“I assumed.”

 

“You’re just carrying around a thousand dollars out here?  Are you  _ asking _ to be robbed?”

 

He shrugged.  “I can take care of myself.”  Yuri conceded that point; he did look like he wouldn’t go down easily.

 

“And you just happened to have that much on you?”

 

“I brought more than that with me.”

 

“Shit.  So I could have charged more?”

 

“If I get everything I want, I’ll add more to it.”

 

Yuri suppressed a shudder, wondering what exactly this guy would want from him.  Some people were into really freaky shit.  “Tell me the address, and you can tell me what you want from me on the way.”

 

“1024 South street.”  The man waited a moment for Yuri to enter the address in his phone, then they turned the direction of South street.  They walked for several moments in silence before Yuri finally broke it.

 

“So what exactly are you expecting from me?”

 

“Sex.”

 

“No, really?” Yuri asked sarcastically.  “What specifically?  I’m assuming you’ve got plans if you need me for the whole night.”

 

“I want you… available to me.  As often as I want.  And it’ll probably be rough.”

 

“How rough?”

 

“You’ll be sore in the morning.”

 

Well that wasn’t nearly as telling as Yuri wanted, but for a thousand plus, he could afford to take the next night off if he needed to.  “Alright, what else?”  There was a worrying pause.

 

“I’ll want to… touch you.”

 

_ Huh? _  “It would be a little difficult to fuck without touching.”

 

“Aside from just the sex.  I’ll want to put my hands on you whenever, wherever, and you not push me away.”  He spoke stiffly, as if the idea made him uncomfortable.  Yuri didn’t know what to say to that.  Did the guy just want to be fucking  _ held _ or something?  “Is that a problem?”

 

“No.”  Yuri shook his head quickly.  “For a thousand bucks you can touch me as much as you want.”

 

“Good.”

 

They walked a little further in silence before reaching a warehouse that had been converted.  Yuri thought of how much more comfortable he would be going inside if he had a pimp or someone waiting to bust in if things went south, then shook the thought away.  Pimps were bad news.  He had plans for his future, and he wasn’t going to risk fucking them up by letting some meathead take part of his money and try to turn him into their personal bitch.

 

The lobby of the building was empty, but well lit.  As they stepped into the elevator, Yuri put himself into his ‘customer’ state of mind.  Sex work was fairly easy to do if you could separate yourself from it.  He’d long ago stopped thinking of it as an intimate thing.  He could fuck pretty much on auto-pilot at this point.  Still, it helped to be in a specific mental space.  Made it easier to keep his ‘real life’ and his night time activities in different worlds. 

 

When the elevator opened on the top floor, Yuri expected to be pushed against the wall and immediately ravished.  Or at the very least pressed to his knees to start blowing the guy.  He seemed eager to start, and if they were going to go all night, Yuri thought he would want to get the first one out of the way pretty quick.

 

Instead, his host began carefully removing his jacket and shoes.  Yuri followed his lead, thinking how out of place his pleather jacket looked in the mostly empty but obviously expensive loft.

 

“Bathroom’s through there,” he pointed down the hall.  “Go shower, scrub well, and brush your teeth with the unopened toothbrush on the counter.  Come back out naked.”

 

“Wait- what?”  Yuri looked at the door, then back to his customer.  He didn’t know whether to be more shocked or offended.  “Do I smell bad to you or something?”

 

“I don’t have any desire to put my mouth or my cock where another man’s just had his without it being washed.”

 

Well that was blunt.  Yuri scowled.  “Condom use isn’t negotiable, not for anyone or for any price.”

 

“Good.  I still want you to be cleaned off first.”

 

“Are you gonna wash your greasy ass too?”  Yuri snapped angrily.  Shit, he shouldn’t be pissing off his customer.  But seriously, the asshole looked like it had been far longer since  _ he’d _ seen a shower than Yuri had.

 

“I-”  He looked down and his eyebrows drew together again, as if he hadn’t seen himself in a long time.  “Alright.”

 

“Really?”  Yuri was taken aback.  He’d half expected the guy to throw him out after that, not  _ agree _ .  Mr Undercut nodded.

 

“I guess I haven’t…  I didn’t realize.  It’s only fair.”

 

What the hell?  Was he a druggie or something?  Did he not know when the last time he’d showered was?  Suddenly Yuri was very glad that he’d agreed, because the thought of sucking a dick that hadn’t been washed in god-knew-how-long, even through a condom, didn’t appeal to him at all.  “I’ll just- go then.”  He gestured to the bathroom, waiting until his customer nodded before going to the door.  “Hey, what do I call you?” he asked over his shoulder.  There was a pause, then-

 

“Otabek.”  He didn’t ask for Yuri’s name, and Yuri didn’t offer.

 

***

 

Yuri emerged from the shower a daring and indulgent twenty minutes later.  If Otabek deducted the time from Yuri’s pay, it would be fucking  _ worth _ it.  That shower had goddamn body jets.  The soap had been the fanciest stuff Yuri had ever seen, and it had left his skin silky soft.  Being able to stand in the hot water and it not turn icy cold after a few minutes had been in-fucking-credible.

 

Steam rolled out of the bathroom when he opened the door.  He half expected Otabek to be impatiently waiting just outside it, but the hall was empty.  Instead, he found Otabek in the living room, wearing nothing but a towel and counting out hundred dollar bills.  Now there was a sight Yuri could get used to.  Otabek was seriously good looking, toned in a way that spoke more of natural physique and manual labor than time at the gym.  And a hot guy counting out hundreds meant for him was about as good as it got.

 

Otabek turned, saw him standing there naked and holding his clothes, and swallowed hard.  He added two more bills to the pile he’d been counting and handed it over to Yuri.  “That’s the thousand we agreed on to start.”  Yuri took it, suddenly feeling a slight wave of apprehension at the look of hunger in Otabek’s eyes.  “Put those down.”

 

Yuri nodded, tucking the stack of bills inside the pocket of his shorts and dropping the bundle to the floor by his shoes.  He barely had time to look back up before he was crowded against the wall.  Strong arms lifted him easily and urged his legs around a trim waist.  He let himself be manhandled, not struggling when he felt Otabek’s lips and teeth at his neck, or when he felt calloused hands grip his ass.

 

Otabek moaned low, his whole body trembling and flush.  Yuri made himself pliant, shifting his head to the side to give Otabek better access and hooking his heels together behind Otabek’s back.  He felt the towel slip lower, the soft terrycloth barely covering the prominent erection just beneath it.

 

With quick steps, Otabek turned and moved them into the bedroom.  Yuri barely had time to look around, to take in the sight of the minimalistic decor and large bed, before he was pressed down on his back.  Otabek’s lips moved down from his neck to his chest, nipping and sucking at his nipples before circling his belly button and then dropping biting kisses to the inside of Yuri’s thighs.  Yuri gasped and squirmed, the sensation half tickling and half painful.  Otabek  _ growled _ and pinned his hips down, then sucked a bright mark right on the seam where Yuri’s hip met his thigh.

 

“What’re you-”

 

“Shut up.”

 

Yuri huffed indignantly but didn’t say anything else.  If Otabek wanted to waste time on giving him hickeys like a fucking teenager instead of getting down to the dicking, then Yuri wasn’t gonna complain.  The marks would be easy enough to cover with makeup.

 

The drawer on the nightstand was pulled open and Otabek produced two condoms and a bottle of lube.  Yuri raised a brow at first, wondering just how quick this guy thought he’d be able to get it up again, before watching Otabek roll the first condom down over his fingers.  Oh- well that was actually very practical.  Yuri didn’t like to think how many times guys had wiped lube slicked fingers off on him after they’d-

 

He hissed in a breath as Otabek pressed one slick, latex covered finger into him.  He reminded himself to relax and bear down, and he was more prepared for the second finger to be added.  The prep was quick and efficient, scissoring motions opening him up with practiced ease.  Not that Yuri had doubted, but this definitely wasn’t Otabek’s first time.

 

A moment later Otabek pulled back, discarded the used condom in the bin, and rolled the second one over his erection.  One look at it and Yuri knew he was gonna feel this in the morning.   _ Especially _ if Otabek thought he could get it up more than once.  Shit.

 

More lube dripped between them and then Otabek was pressed against him, breath coming in harsh, excited pants.  There was a pause when the head of his cock met the resistance of Yuri’s muscle, then the lube did its job and he slipped inside.

 

_ Fuck _ !  Yuri stiffened, unprepared for the extent of the burn, despite the prep.  Otabek didn’t seem to notice, continuing forward until he was buried all the way inside Yuri.  His whole body was shaking, his cock throbbing inside Yuri, his eyes screwed tightly shut.  If Yuri hadn’t been so focused on his own discomfort, he might have thought Otabek was in pain.  Instead, he was fighting a grimace and trying to force his body to relax around the sizeable intrusion.  Just when he was starting to be able to breathe again, Otabek’s eyes opened.  They were  _ blazing _ .  Yuri didn’t know any other word for it.

 

Otabek drew his hips back and then slammed them forward, pounding Yuri down into the mattress and picking up a punishing rhythm.  All Yuri could do was brace his hands against Otabek’s chest and try to hold on.  After a few moments, Otabek leaned up, grabbed Yuri by the waist, and began using him like a fucktoy.  Yuri’s legs bounced against Otabek’s shoulders.  Just when he’d begun to adjust to the brutal fucking, Otabek groaned low and stilled, his cock pulsing in Yuri’s ass.

 

_ Well, that was quick _ .  Not that Yuri was complaining.  He didn’t think he could have taken very much of that kind of punishment.  When Otabek had said the sex would be rough, he hadn’t been joking.  Still, rough sex hadn’t been code for hitting him or cutting him, so Yuri wasn’t exactly going to complain.

 

Otabek collapsed on top of him, chest billowing.  He pressed his face into the crook of Yuri’s shoulder in a gesture that was more reminiscent of affection to a lover than something you’d do to a hooker.  Yuri put his arms around Otabek’s shoulders a little awkwardly, not sure what else to do.  It seemed like the right move, though, because Otabek hummed and held him tighter.  Several minutes ticked by.  Yuri began to wonder if Otabek would just want to  _ cuddle _ him the rest of the night.  It would be unusual, yes, but people had paid him for far weirder shit.

 

“Are you- okay?”  Otabek finally pulled back enough to look down at Yuri.  He seemed almost shy now that he’d finished.

 

“Fine,” Yuri replied easily.  “Nothing I couldn’t handle.”

 

“I did say it would be rough,” Otabek added defensively, as if Yuri had berated him for the harsh handling.

 

“You did.”

 

“But I didn’t… hurt you, right?”

 

Yuri wiggled a little, shifting Otabek’s soft cock inside him.  “Nothing broken.”  Otabek studied him for a moment, then nodded.  With a soft sigh, he pulled the rest of the way out and disposed of the condom.  He looked back to where Yuri was lying on his side, considered for a moment, then pulled Yuri into his arms.  He nuzzled into Yuri’s hair and breathed deep.  “Uh… ok?”

 

“What?” Otabek snapped, sounding both self-conscious and angry.

 

“Woah, don’t freak out on me.  I was just surprised.  Most customers don’t exactly wanna cuddle the hooker.”

 

“I said part of what I paid you for would be to touch you.”

 

“I’m not complaining.  I just thought you meant a different kind of touch.”

 

Otabek didn’t reply.  Instead, he held Yuri tighter and began to run his fingertips over Yuri’s skin.  It was soft, almost tickling, and very soothing.  It was hard to believe that two minutes ago this man had been reaming his ass like he wanted to split Yuri in two.

 

Yuri relaxed as Otabek continued, taking his time tracing slow, intricate designs on every bit of Yuri’s skin that he could reach.  So far, Yuri wasn’t going to complain one fucking bit.  If this was all the guy wanted from the night, then it would be the easiest thousand bucks he ever made.  Hell, he could get used to this treatment.  He didn’t consider himself a cuddler, but Otabek’s hands were incredibly gentle and he smelled like cedar.  Yuri glanced up to Otabek’s face and saw that his eyes were heavy lidded, occasionally closing for long moments and then opening again to drift over another part of Yuri’s body.

 

He was surprisingly handsome, Yuri knew, for someone fucking a prostitute.  Most of his customers weren’t young, rich, good-looking boys.  They were usually ugly, fat, old, or had such extreme taste that their only chances at getting a partner was to pay for one.  It was  _ not _ a glamorous life.  Not that he was really complaining.  He was getting what he needed, making his own way in the world.  That was more than a lot of people had.  But he could admit that it would be nice if he had more customers like Otabek than the middle-aged drunks that liked to fuck him against the dumpster in the alley on Garden Square.

 

He wondered why Otabek had hired him in the first place, aside from the obvious.  Not to jinx it or anything, but so far they hadn’t done anything extreme enough that it would scare off the dating pool.  Otabek had been rough, yes, but not dangerously so.  And if he carried enough cash to drop a thousand or more on a whore for a night, then he was probably wealthy enough that at least a few gold diggers had to be sniffing around him.

 

Maybe he was married and bored with his spouse.   If so, then that suited Yuri just fine.  He didn’t want to be a home-wrecker or anything, but  _ he _ hadn’t made any vows.  If someone wanted to pay him for a little infidelity, who was he to judge?  Cheater’s money spent just as well as everyone else’s.

 

But there was no ring on Otabek’s hand, and no sign of another person living in the loft.  No pictures he could see of the unhappy couple, no second set of shoes by the door.  Maybe Otabek was just looking for a thrill.  Yuri’d had trust fund daddy’s boys buy an hour with him before just for the rush of being  _ bad _ .  Otabek didn’t quite look the part, but it was possible.  Hell, at this point, anything was possible.  Otabek might be a secret undercover spy for all Yuri knew.  As long as the cash was real, Yuri didn’t give a shit what he was.

 

Otabek’s mouth had moved down to Yuri’s neck again, kissing the marks he’d left there earlier.  It actually felt pretty nice, if Yuri was being honest.  He thought about jacking off when Otabek went for round two - if he got it up again, of course.  Then again, if he was as crazed as he’d been the first time, Yuri wouldn’t be able to get his hand between them, not to mention it wouldn’t last long enough for him to get off.  It was a nice thought, though.  It’d been a while since he fucked for fun.  And if he could mix business and pleasure, well, no one was going to complain, he was sure. 

 

As if going right along with Yuri’s thoughts, Otabek shifted until he was on top of Yuri again.  He ground his hips down, trapping his erection and Yuri’s semi between them.   _ Well _ , that felt nice.  Yuri bucked upwards, and was rewarded with a gasp from Otabek.  He grinned.  Otabek looked down at him in surprise, then a little smile quirked his lips.  He pressed down again, then shifted back so that his cock slipped down between Yuri’s legs.

 

Yuri jerked and wiggled up the bed until there was a few inches between them.  “Condom,” he reminded sharply.  Otabek had the grace to look embarrassed instead of angry.

 

“Fuck, sorry.”  He grabbed another one from the nightstand and ripped it open, rolling it on and waiting for Yuri to scoot back down to him.

 

“It’s fine.  Just, safety first, ya know?”

 

“Right, right.”  He looked down between them, then glanced back up.  “Are you-”

 

“Yeah, go ahead.”  Yuri lifted his hips a little higher and settled his legs over Otabek’s thighs.  With far more restraint than he’d shown the first time around, Otabek pushed in.  Yuri was still slick and pliant from earlier, and this time there was nothing more than a minor burn as Otabek stretched him around his cock.  He was already a bit sore, but Otabek seemed content to take his time, rocking into Yuri with long, slow thrusts.  Every once in a while, the head of his cock would brush over Yuri’s prostate, making him clench.  That, combined with Otabek’s hands wandering over him still, stroking his chest, squeezing his ass, was all adding up to a rather pleasant encounter.  Yuri’s cock rose from semi-hard to a full erection.  He fisted it loosely, giving a single stroke before asking, “you mind?”

 

Otabek looked down at him, surprise written all over his face.  Yuri went to move his hand away, but Otabek stopped him.  “No, do it.  I mean, go ahead.”  He  _ blushed _ . Yuri fought the urge to chuckle.  Instead, he put his hand back and stroked his cock in time with Otabek’s thrusts.  Otabek’s cock swelled and throbbed inside him.  Apparently he liked what he saw.  Yuri’s lips curled into a smug smile.

 

If Otabek lasted longer this time, there wasn’t any reason they couldn’t  _ both _ get something out of this.

 

Yuri began pushing his hips back to meet Otabek’s thrusts, gasping a little when Otabek’s cock slammed into his sweet spot.  Otabek’s eyes closed in pleasure, then popped open again as though he didn’t want to miss anything.  Yuri huffed out a laugh and moved faster.  Otabek’s hair trigger must have been a first time only problem, because he continued thrusting into Yuri at that same measured pace, giving Yuri time to bring himself right to the edge of orgasm.

 

“I’m so close,” he whispered, taking the gamble that Otabek wouldn’t mind him talking a little.  Otabek’s hand closed over Yuri’s squeezing just enough to stave off the orgasm.

 

“Not yet.”

 

Yuri whimpered.  Otabek thrust into him again, harder.  “Otabek!”  Otabek shuddered, then thrust again, harder still.

 

“Say it again,” Otabek demanded.  Yuri didn’t know which part he wanted repeated, and frankly, he didn’t fucking care.  He wanted to  _ come _ .

 

“I’m close, I want to come, Otabek, please, please-”  his rush was cut off in a moan as Otabek stroked their joined hands over Yuri’s cock, letting his orgasm crash over him.  Otabek slammed forward half a dozen more times as his own release hit.  A bead of sweat dropped from the tip of Otabek’s nose and fell on Yuri’s chest, sliding down to pool with the come streaked there.  “Woah,” Yuri breathed, his body clenching in little aftershocks.  “Well that was a nice bonus.”

 

“Yeah,” Otabek agreed, pulling away slowly and cleaning himself up.  “Uh, here.”  He handed Yuri tissues from the nightstand.  Yuri took them and wiped down his chest and stomach.  When he was more or less clean he tossed them into the bin Otabek had used and then settled back down on the bed, not sure if he was supposed to stick around for more petting or if Otabek would want him to get out now that he’d gotten his second pop.

 

Otabek answered the question for him by pulling Yuri close again.  He wrapped around Yuri like a fucking vine, a low rumbling sound of contentment coming from somewhere in his chest.  Yuri smiled crookedly.  Damnit all if he didn’t feel pampered as hell.  If he got out of this with another shower and a hefty tip, this would be the best night of his whole career.

 

The minutes ticked by in the darkness, and Yuri drifted off to sleep.  When he woke again, he had no idea how much time had passed.  The room was pitch black; the only thing he could see was the shine of Otabek’s eyes in the darkness.  Yuri felt sleepy and boneless as Otabek rolled him to his stomach and then shifted his knees under him.

 

“Cond-” he yawned, and before he could finish, Otabek took Yuri’s hand and led it to his cock so that Yuri could feel the rubber there.  Satisfied, Yuri let his hand flop back down to the bed.  Otabek pushed forward, the head of his cock slipping inside as Yuri whimpered.  Otabek stilled.

 

“You okay?” he asked, voice soft and rough from sleep.

 

Yuri’s answer came out as a whine.  “Sore.”  Otabek gripped Yuri’s hip.

 

“Just one more,” he promised huskily.  His cock slid in another inch and Yuri clenched around him, shuddering.  “I don’t-” he broke off, letting out a slow sigh and relaxing his hold on Yuri.  “Need me to stop?”  Yuri considered briefly, sorting through the sleep haze over his mind.  He appreciated that Otabek was asking if he was too sore to go again, and he probably  _ should _ tell him that he was, but…  But what the hell.  Otabek had already gotten him off, which had been nice, and was paying him really fucking well.  He rocked backwards slightly, hissing at the burn of Otabek sliding further in.

 

“Keep going,” he urged.  Otabek inhaled sharply and drove the rest of the way forward.  Yuri keened, the discomfort slipping into outright pain.  Otabek folded forward over him until his lips were against Yuri’s ear.

  
“Ssh,” he soothed.  “Just relax.  It’ll be over soon.”  His thrusts were shallow at first, steadily deepening as Yuri’s body became more pliant beneath him.  “That’s it,” he whispered.  His lips moved down to kiss along the length of Yuri’s spine.  The last of the pain slid away, leaving only lingering soreness and an aching kind of pleasure from overstimulation.  When Yuri tilted his hips back to take Otabek deeper, he took that as invitation and began began fucking him with long strokes, harder and harder until with a low groan, Otabek came.  He collapsed on top of Yuri, driving him down onto the mattress on his stomach.  Neither of them  moved.  Yuri had half a mind to ask Otabek to get his dick out of his ass, but he fell asleep before he could vocalize the request. 


	2. Chapter 2

Sometime before morning, Otabek’s dick slipped out on its own, a fact for which Yuri was grateful, or he was sure he wouldn’t have been able to walk out straight.  He shifted on the bed, stretching, and Otabek’s arms closed around him like a vice. 

 

“Wha time-” Otabek lifted his head from where it had been nuzzling Yuri’s hair and he stiffened for a moment.  “Oh.”  Yuri took that as his cue.

 

“Yeah. Well, I’ll just get out of your hair then.”  He scooted to the edge of the bed and stood, uncaring of his nudity.  After a beat, he dared push his luck.  “Mind if I use that shower again?  It was kind of fucking awesome.”

 

“Yes.  I mean- no.  No I don’t mind.  Just-”  He stopped, a flush creeping up his cheeks, then waved in the direction of the door.  “Go ahead.”

 

“Thanks.”  Yuri smothered his grin.  Otabek’s awkwardness was kind of cute, in a weird, messy way.  “Oh, and you might wanna-” he gestured down to the filled condom clinging to Otabek’s spent cock.  Yuri went down the hall to the sound of Otabek cursing the mess.

 

This time he made due with only ten minutes in the shower.  He dressed in his clothes from the night before, the high waisted shorts and wedge sneakers feeling stale after the rest of him being so clean.  Oh well, it was just to get home.  He considered spending some of the thousand that was burning a hole in his pocket on a cab home since it was going to be cold as  _ tits _ out and the pleather jacket he’d been wearing wouldn’t do jack shit to keep him warm.  But no - a taxi across town would cost him as much as three meals, and if he was careful with this money, he could stretch it out to cover next month’s rent, the rest of his classes for the semester, as well as food.  Just because he’d gotten a big payout didn’t mean he needed to waste it on frivolous expenses.   It wasn’t like he’d get hypothermia in the time it took to get home.

 

Otabek was waiting for him in the living room, freshly showered and dressed in jeans and a white t shirt.  It was a good look for him.  Yuri almost said as much, but held back.  This wasn’t a hook up, it was a business transaction.  It had been a fairly pleasant one, sure, but it was still business.

 

“So I’ll just-”  Yuri headed the direction of the door, lingering a little in hopes that Otabek remembered his offer of a bonus.

 

“Uh, yeah.  Th-thanks.  For the…”

 

Yuri smirked.  Seriously, how could a grown man be so adorably awkward?  “It’s what they pay me for.”

 

“Right.  Right! Hold on.”  He turned and fumbled for his wallet where he’d tossed it on the coffee table the night before.  Yuri internally cheered as Otabek grabbed a handful of hundreds without counting them and thrust them out.  “The extra.  For- for-”  Yuri took the money, nodding.  “The sex,” Otabek finally managed to get out.  “Especially that last one.”

 

“It was a pain in the ass, but I survived.”

 

Otabek’s eyes widened for a moment, then the pun hit him and he grinned.  “If you ever want to do this again sometime, you know where to find me.”  Yuri smacked Otabek on the ass boldly, then went out the door.  He got half way down the hall before Otabek rushed out after him, barefoot and holding a coat.

 

“Hey, it’s pretty fucking cold out.  You might want-” he dropped the coat around Yuri’s shoulders.

 

“Oh.  I guess I-”  Yuri stopped the protest before it formed.  “Thanks.”  He smiled up at Otabek, pulling the coat tighter around himself.  Otabek swallowed hard.  “See ya around, maybe.”  This time he gave Otabek a kiss on the cheek, then turned and went down to the elevator.  By the time he was inside and turned to press the down button, Otabek was still standing in the hall, hand over his cheek where Yuri’s lips had been.

 

***

 

It had been three weeks since awkward richboy had picked him up, and Yuri was thinking he could sure go for another night like that again.  It had gone from cold to  _ fucking freezing _ , but bills didn’t care whether your balls turned into ice cubes and fell off.  They kept coming, rain or snow.

 

A car turned down the block and Yuri took off his permanently borrowed coat, shoving it under his arm to show off his crop top and ass hugging skinny jeans.  The car rolled to a stop and the window went down.  “How much?”  Yuri leaned down to brace his hands on the car door.

 

“Depends on what you-”

 

“Yuri?”

 

Fuck.  Fuck fuck fuck.

 

_ Fuck _ .

 

Yuri leaned away from the car, his cheeks hot.  What the actual  _ fuck _ was JJ doing picking up a whore in Garden Square?  The car door opened and JJ started to step out.  Yuri stumbled back, his mind going absolutely blank as he tried to figure out how the hell he was going to explain to a  _ classmate _ what he was doing.  It was going to end up all over school that he was turning tricks downtown.  Would they kick him out of university for something like this?  “Fuck-” he didn’t know if he would have finished that with  _ you _ or  _ off _ or  _ my life _ , because someone else cut in at just that moment.

 

“Is everything okay?”

 

Richboy!  Otabek!  Yuri nearly collapsed into him and wept with relief.  Instead, he slung an arm around Otabek’s waist and huffed out a laugh.  “There you are!  I was beginning to think I had the time we were supposed to meet up wrong.  I was just playing a little joke on my dickless classmate here while I waited for you.”

 

“Oh?”  Otabek’s voice was strangely high and he’d gone very still.  Yuri just hoped he went along with the lie until JJ fucked off.

 

“I think he’s out looking for a hooker since he can’t get any tail on his own.”

 

JJ blanched.  “Fuck you, Yuri!  I wasn’t-”

 

“Sure you weren’t,” Yuri sneered.  “Were you asking how much my  _ shoes _ cost, then?  Somehow I don’t think so.”

 

“Go to hell,” JJ snarled, getting back in the car and slamming the door.  Yuri waited until he’d driven off before pulling back from Otabek with a relieved sigh.

 

“Thanks.  You really saved my ass.”  He stopped when he saw how tense Otabek still was.  “What?”

 

“Classmate?  Please tell me you’re-”

 

“College!  College classmate.  I’m not jailbait.”

 

Otabek ran a hand over his face.  “Thank fucking god.”  Yuri laughed.

 

“Well aren’t you a responsible little boy scout.  You should have seen your face!”

 

“I’m not a boy scout just because I don’t want to fuck kids.”

 

Yuri shrugged easily.  “That’s more than some of the others that come through here.  Maybe excluding JJ.  He’s a dickless wonder, but I don’t think he’s a kiddy diddler.”  Otabek cringed at the term.  “But I’m sure you didn’t come out in this shit weather just to be my knight in shining armor and save my reputation.”

 

“...no.”

 

“Are you looking for the same thing as last time, or something different?”

 

“Same as last time.”

 

“Same rate?”

 

Otabek nodded.  Yuri grinned.  “Well then you’re in luck.  My whole night’s schedule just opened up.”  He started to loop his arm through Otabek’s, but Otabek stopped and tugged the coat from under his other arm.  He slipped it over Yuri’s shoulders and pulled the collar up high against the wind, cocking an eyebrow when he recognized it.  “What?  It’s warm.”  It  _ was _ warm.  And smelled like cedar.  And had reminded Yuri of a fun night among a bunch of shit ones.  So what?

 

Otabek just shook his head and let Yuri take his hand, then led the way up to South street.  


	3. Chapter 3

“Hello darling,” Yuri purred, stroking the body jets on the shower lovingly.  “I’ve missed you.”  He turned on the water to as hot as he could stand and let the spray massage away the stress of the day.  He lost track of time wallowing in the steam and the luxury of never ending hot water.  By the time he got out, he expected Otabek to be waiting by the door tapping his foot impatiently.

 

Instead, he was checking his phone at the dining room table, the towel around his hips gapped on one side, revealing a thickly muscled thigh.  Yuri walked over naked, stopping when he reached the edge of the table.  Otabek finally looked up and nearly dropped the phone.  He half rose, scooting the chair back in the process, then sat back down again abruptly.

 

“Do you give head?”

 

Yuri laughed.  Did he  _ give head _ .  “Honey, I’ll blow you to Timbuktu and back.”

 

“Alright then.”  Otabek widened his legs and sat back. Yuri dropped to his knees and took the edge of the towel between his teeth, tugging it open.  Otabek was already hard, his cock curving up towards his belly eagerly.  When Yuri ran his fingers up Otabek’s thighs, he shivered and his cock jumped.

 

“Hold that thought.”  Yuri stood back up, rummaged through his clothes until he found a condom in the pocket of his jeans and snagged a pillow from the couch on his way back.  He dropped it to the floor and knelt on it, then tore open the condom wrapper with his teeth.  “You ready?”  Otabek nodded.  Yuri set the unrolled condom on the tip of Otabek’s cock, then pushed it down his length with his lips.  By the time he was all the way on, Otabek’s hands were in Yuri’s hair and he was breathing hard.  Yuri swallowed around the tip of him just to show off, gagging a little when Otabek’s hips bucked.

 

“Fuck, sorry-”  Otabek gasped when Yuri did it again, taking him deep and holding him in the back of his throat.  “Fuuuuck…”  Yuri couldn’t really smile with his lips stretched around Otabek’s cock, but he felt the expression all the same.

 

It didn’t take long for Otabek’s erection to be throbbing, his body straining towards release.  He’d begun to thrust his hips again minutely, obviously struggling to control himself, and Yuri took pity on him.  He pulled off and wiped his mouth.  “Go ahead,” he offered, putting Otabek’s hand back into his hair.  “You want to fuck my throat, right?”  There was a quick pause, then Otabek nodded.  “Do it.”  He sucked Otabek’s cock back into his mouth, relaxed his throat, and waited.  Otabek’s hand tightened his his hair, and then he went wild, pushing Yuri down while he thrust upwards, burying his cock down Yuir’s throat as deep as it would go.  Yuri gagged, waiting to take a breath in through his nose when Otabek pulled back, and humming when he thrust back in to keep from choking.  He felt tears gather in the corner of his eyes and his chin get wet with spit.  Otabek fucked hard and fast, grunting softly as he got closer to orgasm.  Yuri kept his jaw relaxed and waited.

 

Otabek came with a strangled curse, cock jerking in Yuri’s mouth as the end of the condom filled in spurts.  Yuri sucked in a breath when he pulled back, wiping his eyes and chin quickly.

 

“Holy… fuck.”  Otabek, too, was struggling to regain his breath.  “That was… that was… good.  Really good.”

 

Yuri laughed, standing up and catching himself when he staggered.  “Well aren’t you loquacious.”  Otabek scowled at him.

 

“If you hadn’t just let me use your throat as a cocksleeve, I’d be offended by that.”

 

“Good thing my throat is bought and paid for tonight, then.”  He grabbed the pillow and tossed it back to the couch.  The TV above the fireplace was on but muted, and the show on caught Yuri’s eye.  “Hey, is this the newest episode?”

 

Otabek craned his head to see the television, then nodded.  “I think so.  You watch  _ Lightning Bug _ ?”

 

“When I get the chance, yeah.  It’s usually not till the episodes come out for free, though, so there’s like a two week delay.”

 

“Want to watch it?”

 

“What, seriously?  Now?”

 

“No, next week,” he replied sarcastically.  “Yes now.”

 

“Don’t be a dick.  I mean, don’t you want to…” he made a vulgar gesture.  Otabek shrugged.

 

“I have a pretty high sex drive but even I need a little bit before I can get it up again.  Why not?”

 

“Oh.  I mean, yeah, if you’re offering.  I just thought you’d want to… do stuff like last time.”

 

Otabek shrugged again.  “The couch is deep enough to lay on and having the TV on won’t bother me.   Unless you’ve got some rules about distractions or something.”

 

“No, distractions are great.  Hell, I’d  _ rather _ -” he stopped abruptly, realizing that it was probably bad for business to finish that sentence.  “Rather shut my damn mouth,” he finished, making a zipping motion across his lips.  Thankfully, Otabek laughed.  He left the towel on the chair and stretched out on the couch naked, then pulled Yuri down with him and draped a blanket over them both.  He produced the remote from some crevice and unmuted the TV.  Once Yuri was settled, Otabek let his hands wander.

 

They spent the next hour cuddled together on the couch, Yuri watching the show and Otabek touching every inch of Yuri’s body.  By the end, Yuri wasn’t sure if the show was distracting him from Otabek, or if Otabek was distracting Yuri from the show.  But the stroking felt nice, and when the credits ran, Yuri was happy to turn in Otabek’s arms and fondle his now hard cock.  “Well that was awesome.  Didn’t see that twist at the end coming.”

 

Otabek hummed noncommittally.

 

“You didn’t even watch it, did you?”

 

“Nope.”

 

“You missed out.”

 

“I really didn’t.”  Otabek looked at him with such heat in his eyes that Yuri shivered.

 

“Wanna move this in the bedroom?”

 

“Not really.  Kind of want to see how you look bend over the arm of the couch with my cock inside you.”

 

“That can be arranged.”

 

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

 

***

 

They did end up in the bed, but not until after Otabek had come a second time.  Yuri was sprawled out, his hips feeling a little loose but otherwise mostly unaffected by the night’s activities.  Otabek was still catching his breath.

 

“Christ you’ve got nice fucking sheets.  Has anyone ever told you that?  What are these made from, unicorn assholes?”

 

Otabek snorted.  “Pretty sure they’re just cotton, but thanks.  Can’t say I’ve ever heard that comparison before.”

 

“Well then you’ve been fucking idiots.  These sheets are goddamn mystical.  Tell me the truth, did you sell your soul for these sheets?”

 

“No.”

 

“You must have sold your soul for the  _ shower _ , then.  I guess the devil threw in the sheets for free with the deal.”

 

“I feel like I could start paying you in showers and you wouldn’t complain.”

 

“Some days?  Fuck yeah.  But orgasmic showers don’t pay the bills, unfortunately.”

 

“Orgasmic?”

 

“Figure of speech.”  Yuri rolled his eyes.  “Though I’m sure they’d be great for sex, too.”

 

“Maybe I’ll show you in the morning.”

 

“I dunno…  that might require overtime.”

 

“I think I can afford it.”

 

They drifted to sleep eventually, Otabek once again wrapped around Yuri like a vine.  When Yuri woke up, he felt nearly smothered.  He wondered, as he smothered a yawn, why Otabek seemed so touch starved.  He still knew next to nothing about Otabek, really.  Yeah, he was beginning to get a grasp on what the man liked in bed, and that tended to say a lot about a person, but it didn’t tell Yuri anything about Otabek’s  _ life _ .

 

It surprised him that he was curious, considering how little interest he had in his other customers.  Then again, he’d never had one he spent as much time with as Otabek, and certainly never had one pay him better.  So maybe a little curiosity was natural.

 

Otabek yawned so widely his jaw popped, then pressed his morning erection against Yuri’s ass.  “Is that the bottle of lube poking me in the back, or are you just happy to see me?”

 

“Depends on which one’ll get me a piece of ass.”

 

“I think we can say I’m still on the clock from last night, so you can have my ass either way.”

 

Otabek rolled Yuri to his back and blanketed him.  “In that case, I’m just happy to see you.”  He leaned down and kissed Yuri, lightly at first, then more deeply.  Kisses still threw Yuri for a bit of a loop.  It wasn’t that he had a rule against them or anything.  He wasn’t worried he was going to  _ fall in love _ with anyone he locked lips with.  It was just that back alley transactions like the ones he was used to rarely called for that kind of affection.  Hell, most of the time there was little touching at all except ass and dick.

 

It was… nice, though.  Otabek was a good kisser, and somehow he always managed to taste minty, even in the morning.  Cuddly, rich, good looking, great kisser…. really, it was more and more surprising that Otabek was soliciting a hooker instead of shacking up with some brunette and their poodle.  He was just such  _ boyfriend _ material.  Except for his awkwardness and occasional verbal blunders, there weren’t really any flaws Yuri could see.  Then again, it was still possible that Otabek  _ did _ have a picket fence life, and this - the apartment, the fancy shower, the hooker - was his escape from it.  Yuri shrugged it off, deciding once again that it didn’t matter.  The  _ money _ was what mattered, and the fact that earning it wasn’t unpleasant at all was just a bonus.

 

Otabek hitched Yuri’s leg around his hip and reached for a condom.

 

“I thought you were going to show me the joys of sex in your shower?”

 

“Oh, right.  Still want to do that?”

 

“Do gay boys like dick?”

 

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

 

“Well spotted.”  Yuri scooted out from under Otabek and headed for the hall, but Otabek caught him around the waist and slung Yuri over his shoulder, turning them back into the bedroom.  “Hey!”  He bucked and kicked, resulting in Otabek slapping him on the ass.  “Ow!  Watch the goods, will ya?”

 

“Trust me, watching them isn’t the problem.”  Otabek opened the door beside his closet and set Yuri down in his en suite bathroom.  Yuri gaped.  It wasn’t as big as the bathroom in the hall, but the shower/tub combination looked even more luxurious.  Yuri thought he was going to melt into a puddle of goo right there on the floor.   _ This must be what heaven looks like _ .

 

Otabek adjusted the temperature of the water and then stepped in, holding his hand out for Yuri to join him.  Yuri followed, eager as a schoolboy.  The first taste of the water on his skin was bliss.  When the body jets began to pulse, nirvana.  When the water gathering around their feet began to bubble like a jacuzzi, Yuri was certain he’d ascended to the astral plain.  No earthly pleasure could feel this good.

 

He was pliant as a rag doll when Otabek bent him over the shower bench and began stretching him with his fingers and the lube he’d brought in from the bedroom.  Yuri’s body was so relaxed that Otabek’s cock slipped inside him easily, the burn barely even noticeable over the pleasure of having his body massaged by no less than sixteen continuous streams of water.  Nope, it didn’t get any better than this.  Couldn’t.  In fact, there was no better-

 

And then Otabek turned one of the jets so that it was aimed right at Yuri’s cock.  “Oh,  _ fuck _ ,” Yuri breathed.  He’d already been half hard just from the bliss of the fucking shower, but having the jet massage his cock while Otabek pounded into him from behind was almost too much.  Almost.  Yuri palmed his erection and then tipped it towards the spray, looking for the perfect placement for- ah, there it was.  His cock jumped in his hand and he felt a twin pulse in Otabek’s cock.

 

“Find a good spot?” Otabek asked between thrusts.  Yuri moaned.  “Christ you look so good taking my cock like this.  Love seeing your ass stretched around me, feeling you squeeze me while you’re getting off.  Does that feel good, kitten?  Taking my cock while the water gets you off?”

 

“ _ Fuck yeah _ .”  Yuri threw his head back, rocking in rhythm with Otabek’s thrusts but keeping his cock in the tantalizing spray of the jet.  “Harder,” he demanded.  Otabek obliged, taking him hard and fast until he was shaking with the need for release.  Yuri gave into the pleasure washing through him and came.  “Yes, yes,  _ yes _ ,” he chanted, body tensing and releasing as the orgasm shook him.

 

“Thank god,” Otabek breathed, letting himself go.  He rode out the pleasure, keeping Yuri pinned against the shower wall while he did.  When he came back down from his high, he realized Yuri was squirming and whimpering.  “Huh?”

 

“S-sensitive!” Yuri gasped.  Otabek realized that the jet was still pointed at Yuri’s softening, now overstimulated cock.

 

“Shit, sorry!”  He pulled them both back, then moved the jet the direction it had originally been pointed.  Yuri let out  a sigh of relief.  “Sorry,” Otabek repeated.  Yuri waved the apology away.

 

“No problem.  I just wasn’t expecting that much, uh,  _ attention _ , you know?”

 

Otabek nodded, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.  He actually did not know.  He had no idea what Yuri meant, but it seemed polite to agree.  They rinsed off quickly and stepped out of the shower, though Yuri seemed reluctant to leave it.  “Well that was just as awesome as I thought it would be.”

 

“Glad it lived up to your expectations,” Otabek drawled, enjoying watching Yuri towel himself off.

 

“And speaking of that, thanks for another orgasm.  That was a pleasant surprise.” 

 

“I’ll admit that part of that was selfish.  The way you clamp down on me when you’re coming-”

 

“I don’t wanna talk you out of that or anything, because it works out in my benefit, but I can do that without coming if you ask.”

 

“Good to know.”  Otabek shrugged.  “But I think I can afford to be at least a  _ little _ considerate.  You’ve only had two orgasms to my six.  If you weren’t a whore, I’d be an incredibly inconsiderate partner.”

 

“Call it like it is, why don’t you,” Yuri said with an easy laugh.  Otabek colored slightly.

 

“I mean-”  He grimace.  “Fuck.”  Yuri laughed again.

 

“Chill, it’s no big deal.  I kinda like this awkward say what’s on your mind even if it’s tactless vibe you’ve got.”

 

Otabek snorted.  “Then you’d be the first.”

 

“Probably helps that you’re paying me to put up with you.”  He winked.

 

“Probably.”

 

Otabek’s expression turned thoughtful as he wrapped a towel around his waist and wandered back to the bedroom.  Yuri was still toweling his hair dry, and by the time he’d finished, Otabek had changed into sweatpants and was sitting on the edge of the bed.

 

“Don’t mind me, I’ll just go get my clothes and be on my way.”  He slipped back into the living room, aware that Otabek had followed and was leaning in the doorway, watching him.  He was shimmying into his jeans when Otabek spoke again.

 

“Those don’t look very… comfortable.”

 

Yuri laughed.  “Comfort is the sacrifice of beauty,” he deadpanned, as if he’d read the quote somewhere before rather than making it up on the spot.  Otabek didn’t look convinced.

 

“You could borrow a pair of sweats instead.”

 

“Pretty sure they’d fall down while I was walking home, and I don’t wanna flash my ass for free.  Not to mention my balls would freeze off.”  Yuri lifted his shirt and slipped his arms into it.

 

“Wouldn’t matter if you stayed.”

 

Yuri froze with the shirt half over his head, then drew it back off.  “Huh?”

 

“I mean if you stayed the day.  You could wear- and it wouldn’t matter if they fell down.  I mean-”  Otabek closed his mouth with an audible click.

 

“You’re… asking me to stick around?  Hang out all day?”

 

“I’d pay for your time, of course.”

 

“Oh!  Well I…”  Yuri looked from the hot, shirtless man in front of him, to the flatscreen TV above the fireplace, to the bowl of fresh fruit on the counter.  Someone wanted to  _ pay _ him to spend the day in the lap of luxury?  Who was he kidding?  This was a no brainer.  “Yeah.  Yeah, I’ll stay.  How much?”

 

“That’s my line.”

 

Yuri dropped the shirt back to the floor, sauntered over to where Otabek was still leaning in the doorway, and slid his arms around Otabek’s neck.  “I guess that depends.  Am I going home tonight, or not till tomorrow morning?”  Otabek’s gaze dropped to Yuri’s lips and grew heated.  Jesus, just how much stamina did this guy have?

 

“Tomorrow.”

 

“Okay then.”  Yuri thought fast.  It wasn’t like hanging out and watching TV all day was  _ work _ , and he didn’t want to gouge Otabek too bad and risk him either turning him down or not hiring him again, but he’d be stupid not to try and get what he could out of it.  He was already imagining having his phone bill paid, next semester’s textbooks bought, maybe even getting a pair of shoes without holes in them…  “Twentyfive hundred.”

 

“Same rules apply?”

 

“For you to touch me and fuck me whenever you want?  Eventually I’m gonna get sore.”

 

“Three grand, then.”

 

“Alright.  I can walk a little bowlegged tomorrow for that much.  But I get a veto.  Just in case it really gets too painful.”

 

“You don’t need a  _ veto _ -”

 

Yuri took a step back, his eyes hard.  “Hey, I still get to say  _ no _ if I need to, no matter-”

 

“That’s what I mean,” Otabek interrupted, looking frustrated and embarrassed at the same time.  Yuri paused.  “Just- you don’t need a veto or a code word or something.  This isn’t a  _ scene _ .  Say no if you can’t.  I’m not going to fucking force you.”

 

“Well...good.  Alright then.  Thanks.”  This time it was Yuri’s turn to be embarrassed, but he forced it down.  Better to play it safe and be embarrassed than to get himself in over his head.  They both stood there awkwardly until Yuri cleared his throat.  “So, those sweatpants?”

 

Otabek let out a relieved breath and turned back to the bedroom to get them.  Once Yuri had switched into the more comfortable bottoms, he headed into the kitchen and perched himself up on the counter.  He plucked a pear from the fruit bowl and bit into it happily.  “Do you cook?” he asked around a mouthful.

 

“I usually don’t.”

 

“Alright then, I think you’re paying me enough to be a personal chef for the day.  Let’s see what you’ve got to work with.”  He took another overly large bite of the pear and hopped off the counter.  The refrigerator wasn’t quite as bare as Yuri’s own, but it was close.  The cupboards were at least a little better, with plenty of basic staples like rice, flour, sugar, and oil.  The freezer was where he hit gold.  Butter.  Real sweetcream butter.  Yuri pulled it out with a grin.  “Okay, I can work with this.  How’s pancakes sound?”

 

“Fantastic.”  Otabek settled himself into a chair to watch as Yuri went to work.  He flitted around the kitchen, melting this, whisking that, scoffing when Otabek offered him measuring spoons.   _ Measuring spoons?  I don’t need no stinking measuring spoons. _  Otabek only shook his head and sat back again.  He could get used to this.

 

Fifteen minutes later he was cutting into soft, golden pancakes smothered in butter and syrup.  And holy fuck, he thought he was going to cream his jeans at the first bite.  How long had it been since he’d had real home cooking like this?  Far, far too long.  He wanted more.  He wanted everything.

 

When their plates were cleared, Yuri stacked them carelessly in the sink and took a running jump at the couch.  Otabek joined him at a more sedate pace, then pulled Yuri back against his chest.  He was content just to hold and stroke and caress while Yuri flipped through the endless channels until he found something he wanted to watch.  They were lazy all morning, only leaving the couch to go to the bathroom or get drinks.  Yuri never complained about Otabek’s obsession with touching him.  Nor did he complain when Otabek interrupted him cooking lunch to fuck him on the kitchen counter.  It was quick and hard and Otabek came before the grilled cheese burned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus points to anyone who figures out what show they're watching based on my lame play on the name ; )


	4. Chapter 4

“You’re awfully cute to be a hooker,” Otabek said when they were back on the couch after lunch.  Yuri arched a brow at him.

 

“You’re awfully hot to be a John,” he countered.  Otabek wrinkled his nose, realizing how the statement had sounded.

 

“I just mean, why are you a prostitute?”

 

“Well now, that’s a pretty personal question.  I could ask you why you’re  _ hiring _ a prostitute.”

 

“You don’t have to answer, if it bothers you.”

 

Now that sounded like a challenge.  And Yuri could never back down from a challenge.  “It doesn’t bother me,” he clarified quickly.  “This just… works for me.”  Otabek looked at him blankly.  “I mean, it’s not a glamorous career, but this is just a temporary thing until I finish college.”

 

“But why not work at a department store or restaurant like all the other college kids?”

 

“You mean the rich college kids who have parents to supplement their part time minimum wage?  Yeah, not so much.  I wouldn’t be able to keep a roof over my head with that, let alone pay tuition.”  

 

“So this is just…”

 

“Just temporary.  Another two years and I’ll have my degree, and hopefully enough money saved up to find a decent apartment.”

 

“You don’t seem bothered by it.”

 

“Why should I be?  I think of it like every other shitty temporary job someone takes while waiting for the one they  _ really _ want.  I don’t mind sex, and it’s not like I’m shy or anything.  So why not?”

 

“But it seems… dangerous.”

 

Yuri snorted.  “Going to the grocery store is dangerous.  Walking down the street is dangerous.  Getting in a car is dangerous.  Eating grapes is-”

 

Otabek had blanched and held up his hand to stop Yuri.  “I mean  _ more  _ dangerous.”

 

“I guess.  But I always use protection, which is more than most drunk college kids hooking up, and I make sure I get paid first.”

 

“What if someone decided to take it back like you thought I was gonna do the first time?  Or attack you once they had you alone?”

 

“I’m not a shrinking violet or something.  I’ve had a few people try to rough me up, and I defended myself just fine.  But most of the customers just want to get their fix and move on.”

 

“I guess that all seems very… simple.”

 

“You seem surprised.  Did you think I had been forced into whoring by a cruel pimp who had me hooked on drugs and beat me up?”  Yuri shook his head.  “I’m not saying that there aren’t some people who do what I do that are in really shitty situations, but I’m doing just fine.  I’m not a damsel in distress.  No one is taking advantage of me.”

 

“That’s good, then,” Otabek said after a beat.  Yuri laughed.

 

“You’ve watched  _ Pretty Woman _ one too many times.”

 

“Pretty what?”

 

“Nevermind.”  Yuri turned his attention back to the show on TV, relaxing back into Otabek’s arms again.

 

***

 

They were sitting on Otabek’s bed with empty take away boxes scattered around them and a pile of playing cards between them.  Yuri glowered at Otabek and Otabek maintained his poker face, looking impassively back.

 

“Sevens,” Yuri finally declared.  Otabek showed his teeth in a wolfish smile.

 

“Go fish.”

 

“Goddamn mother fucking son of a cunt!”  Yuri fought the urge to throw his cards across the room and instead drew a card from the pile.

 

“Eights,” Otabek said immediately.

 

“You.  Bastard.”  With no small amount of malice, Yuri flung three eights at Otabek.  “Dirty rotten slut.”

 

“You’re just a sore loser.”  Otabek combined the three cards with the fourth eight from his hand and grinned as he laid the set down.  “Now give me all your jacks.”

 

“Okay, that’s it, I give up you son of a bitch.  You win.”  He slapped down the rest of his cards, which consisted of a seven, a three, and two jacks.  Otabek laughed.

 

“That’s the third time in a row.  I think I deserve a prize.”

 

“And I think I deserve a prize for putting up with your smug ass.”  Yuri collapsed onto his back and mock glared at Otabek as he crawled up Yuri’s body.

 

“Really? I thought that’s what I was paying you to do.”

 

“Oh yeah.”  Yuri grinned and threw his arms out in invitation.  “In that case, I guess I’m your prize.  Have at it.”

 

“I intend to.”  Otabek kissed Yuri hard, scattering the cards across the bed and knocking take out boxes to the floor.  He let his hands wander, sliding down from Yuri’s chest to his groin, fondling him for a moment before slipping further back.

 

“Just,” Yuri gasped and widened his legs, “be a little careful, yeah?”

 

“I’ll start slow,” Otabek promised.  He leaned over to the side table to grab a condom and the lube, then kissed Yuri again.  He liked that Yuri was half hard.  Liked it a lot.  And maybe it was a little twisted, but he also liked the way Yuri hissed when Otabek pressed his slick cock against him.  Liked knowing that Yuri was sore from their fucking, that he’d be able to feel the effects of Otabek inside him for a long while to come.

 

Otabek kept his promise to go slow, stopping to let Yuri adjust when he got the head inside, waiting until the discomfort stopped twisting Yuri’s face.  Then he slid the rest of the way in.  Yuri arched up and widened his legs even further, trying to ease the sting by making himself as open as possible.  “That’s it, kitten.  Just relax.  I’ve got you.”  Yuri’s eyes flashed opened, then fluttered closed and his muscles began to slowly unclench.  Otabek rocked forward again, cock throbbing at the way Yuri’s body wrapped around him.  Yuri whimpered on the next thrust. 

 

“Hurts-”

 

Otabek slowed a little.  “You can do it,” he whispered.  “You feel so good.  Why don’t you make yourself feel good too?”  He took Yuri’s hand and led it to his cock, which had gone limp.  Yuri groaned, forcing his eyes open.

 

“I don’t think I can-”

 

“Try for me.  You look so good like this.  I love seeing you touch yourself while I fuck you.”

 

Yuri grit his teeth to stifle another whimper and obediently stroked himself.  Reluctantly, his erection returned.  He was still sore, but the pleasure made it easier to bear.  “Faster,” Otabek ordered.  Yuri did it without question.  He wasn’t even thinking any more, just feeling.  Otabek kept thrusting into him, adding to the pleasure by aiming for Yuri’s prostate.  “I want you to come for me, Yuri,” he demanded.  Yuri had a flash of something like satisfaction - was that the first time Otabek had said his name? - and then he shook his head.

 

“I can’t!”

 

“Yes you can.”  Otabek slammed against his prostate again.  “Do it, Yuri.”

 

“I ca-  _ ah _ !”  Yuri gasped as Otabek drove into him again, stroked his hands over Yuri’s nipples, leaned down and kissed him-  With a groan that was muffled between them, Yuri came.  Otabek sat up with a gasp and thrust hard and fast until he followed.  He pulled out carefully a moment later and pushed Yuri’s knee up to his chest.  Yuri could practically  _ feel _ Otabek’s eyes on him.  “Inspecting your handiwork?”

 

“Just checking.”  Otabek kissed the inside of Yuri’s calf and then lowered his leg.  He sprawled out next to Yuri with a sigh of contentment.

 

“And?”

 

“No broken skin.  Looks sore as hell, though.”

 

“No shit, Sherlock,” Yuri scoffed.  “I could’ve told you that much.”  Otabek’s smile was a little apologetic.

 

“How about a bath?  I’ve got some salts you can put in the water that’ll help.” 

 

“That sounds pretty fucking fantastic right now.”

 

“Stay here.”  Otabek pressed a kiss to Yuri’s forehead and the padded off to the bathroom.  Yuri relaxed back against the bed with a smile.  Otabek wasn’t the easiest customer he’d ever serviced, but god damn it was nice to be pampered a little.  He could hear the water turn on, then Otabek emerged again.  Wordlessly, he wiped Yuri’s stomach clean with a washcloth, then tossed it into a laundry hamper and scooped Yuri into his arms. 

 

Yuri let himself be carried without protest.  The tub wasn’t all the way full yet, but he still moaned in pleasure when Otabek lowered him into the water.  Holy hell there was something to be said for a hot bath after a sex-a-thon.  It might even rival the shower.  Well, maybe not quite that far, but still.

  
  


By the time he emerged an hour later feeling a little pruney but far less sore, Otabek was dozing on the bed.  Yuri slipped in beside him without bothering to try and locate the borrowed sweatpants.  They would probably just get taken off again sometime in the night, anyway.  Less than five minutes later he drifted off to sleep.

 

***

 

Yuri woke to the feeling of something being pressed into his mouth.  He swallowed reflexively, his eyes blinking open, then began to suck as he realized Otabek had slipped his index and middle fingers between his lips.  Okay, it was a strange way to wake up, but since Yuri could still feel a lingering ache between his legs, he was glad Otabek was angling for some oral attention instead of something else.  He let his tongue dance along the pads of Otabek’s fingers and then lick down between them erotically.

 

With an impatient huff, Otabek pulled his fingers out and Yuri scooted down the bed without having to be urged.  Otabek’s cock was already straining.  Really, this guy had the highest sex drive of anyone Yuri had ever met.  He rolled on a condom and started sucking.  Otabek’s fingers threaded into Yuri’s hair, but this time he seemed content to let Yuri go at his own pace instead of fucking his throat.  Yuri took his time, alternating between long, slow sucks and teasing licks around the head.  He used his teeth to graze softly against Otabek’s shaft and was rewarded with a muffled curse and Otabek’s hand tightening in his hair.  He did it a second time, then a third, and suddenly his throat was full of cock as Otabek thrust forward sharply and came.

 

Yuri gave him one more suck and then pulled off.

 

“Jesus you’re good at that,” Otabek huffed, trying to get his breath back.

 

“It’s what they-”

 

“Pay you for, yeah.”  Otabek propped himself up on his elbow.  “Still. I think this level of skill goes above and beyond the call of duty.”

 

“What can I say?  I’m naturally talented.”  Yuri smirked as Otabek leaned down and kissed him.  “How’s the flavor of condom in the morning?”

 

Otabek grimaced.  “Not as pleasant as the box claims.  Sorry about that.”

 

“No big deal.  I’ll just go brush it out.  Then am I getting breakfast before I go?”

 

“Depends.  Do you know how to use a waffle maker?”

 

Yuri grinned.


	5. Chapter 5

_ Come to my place at 7? _

 

The text arrived on Friday morning and had Yuri rushing to reply.  Two weeks in a row?  Otabek was going to spoil him with not needing to hit the street at all, and these all night escapades were seriously padding his bank account.

 

_ Sure.  Same song and dance? _

 

Yuri dressed while waiting for the reply.  Already he was thinking ahead.  He could probably just wear street clothes over there.  Otabek usually had him take them off right away anyways.  And this time he would remember to bring his goddamn phone charger, especially since his phone model had died with the dinosaurs and last time he hadn’t even been able to borrow Otabek’s because of course richboy had a fancy phone that took a different charger.

 

_ Maybe.  I’ve got a proposition for you.  If you decline, then we can go back to normal.  But if you say yes… then we’ll see. _

 

A proposition?  Yuri’s curiosity was piqued.  Whatever it was, he assumed it would involve money and sex, and that was A-ok in his book.  He actually kinda liked fucking Otabek.  And he seriously liked the financial perks of it.

 

_ I’m intrigued.  Do I get a hint? _

 

He locked the door behind him and headed out to catch the bus.  His last classes for the week weren’t going to be fun - two of them were with  _ JJ _ \- but now he had something else to look forward to.  He’d been a little hesitant about giving Otabek his number the week before, but now he was glad that he had.  Seriously, the guy was like a hooker’s dream come true.

 

_ Um… no?  I can’t explain it via text without sounding like a creep. _

 

Well that told him exactly nothing.  Yuri shrugged.  There were a million things it could be, and spending the day guessing wouldn't get him anywhere.

 

_ Dude, you’re texting your on-call whore to arrange an all night bang session.  Pretty sure we’ve gone beyond delicate phrasing and blushes.  But be mysterious if you want.  I’ll see you at seven and you can reveal your secrets then. _

 

***

 

Yuri ended up wearing what he’d worn to class that day.  The jeans were snug but soft, his shirt bore a faded band logo, and his jacket had a kick ass tiger striped hood.  He didn’t exactly look like someone you’d pay to fuck, but Otabek had already seen how fuckable he was under the clothes anyways.

 

Otabek opened the door on the first knock and stood there looking uncomfortable.

 

“Are you gonna let me in, or is the big mystery that you want to fuck me in the hall?”

 

“Oh!  Yeah, come in.   I mean, no, I don’t want to fuck you in the hall.  Actually…”  Otabek closed his mouth and shook his head, stepping aside for Yuri to go inside.  Yuri just laughed.

 

“Shower first?”  He kicked off his shoes and pointed to the bathroom door.

 

“Not this time.  Why don’t we sit down and I can explain what I want.  Then we can go from there.”

 

“Ookay.  You sound like you expect me to go running off into the night.”  Yuri sat at the chair Otabek pulled out for him.

 

“Not exactly.  I mean, I hope not.”

 

“What’s up, then?”  He leaned back and waited.  Otabek sat in the chair next to his, angled so that their knees almost touched.  He rubbed the back of his neck in a vulnerable gesture that Yuri found stupid-cute and then laced his fingers together.

 

“I want you to come uh, work for me.  Full time.  Here.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“You’d live here, rent free, and I’d cover all your expenses.  In return, you’d be available to me any time you’re not in class.”

 

“Wait, you want me to  _ live _ with you?”

 

“Yes.  There’s a spare room you could put your things in, but I’d want you to spend the nights with me, of course.”

 

“So…”  Yuri tried to wrap his brain around this and found himself struggling.  “So you want a live in whore?”

 

Otabek flinched a little.  “That’s not a very nice way of phrasing it.”

 

“I prefer to call a spade a spade.  That  _ is _ what you’re asking, right?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“And you’d pay for my expenses.  What does that mean?”

 

“Food, your phone, school supplies, tuition…  Whatever other expenses you have.  Plus extra.  A set amount every week.  Like a-”

 

“An allowance?”

 

“Something like that.”

 

“And in return you want…”

 

“You.  Here.  Available to me except when you’re in class.”

 

“Just for sex?  You’ve got a lot of steam, but even you can’t fuck twenty-four-seven.”

 

“Not just for sex, though there would be that too.  For company.  And to touch you whenever I want and have you not pull away.”  Otabek clasped his hands together as though he was fighting the urge to put his hands on Yuri already.  It was weird, yeah, but Yuri couldn’t help but see the longing in those words.  Just how touch starved  _ was _ Otabek?

 

“Otabek, are you really so lonely that you’re willing to pay for companionship?”  He tried to keep his tone light.  He didn’t want to offend Otabek, or make him think he was turning him down - because he wasn’t - but it still seemed like there were a ton of other options for someone like him.  Ones that didn’t involve moving a hooker in with him.

 

“I don’t…  I’m sure you’ve noticed that I don’t have the best people skills.  Socially awkward doesn’t even begin to cover it.  And I have no filter, so I usually end up offending the people I do manage to spend any time around.  I’ve got this insane fucking sex drive that messes with my head when I don’t sate it, and I’d rather just pay someone to put up with me than subject myself to a string of miserable and pointless dates.”

 

“Okay, I get that.  I think.  It’s practical, at least.”

 

“Does that mean you’re considering it?”

 

“I was considering it from the beginning.  I’m a practical person, too, remember?  I’d have  _ considered _ putting on a costume and being your lap dog all weekend if you paid my tuition.”

 

Otabek cracked a smile for the first time since they’d sat down.  “Oh.  Well I’m not opposed to a little pet play, but it’s not exactly what I’m looking for.”

 

“And I’m not going to complain about that.  A scene is one thing.  A whole weekend of that would be a bit much.  But back to what you  _ do _ want.  I think… I think it’s a great offer from my standpoint, but I’m not sure how well it would actually work.  I mean, I’d need time to myself to do my homework and stuff like that, plus, if we spent every minute around each other I’m sure we would get sick of each other pretty fast.”

 

“Making time for your homework wouldn’t be a problem.  We’ll work around it.  And I’ll be working sometimes, too, so there will probably be stretches where you don’t see me, maybe even for a few days.”

 

“I don’t even know what you do for a living.”

 

“Oh!”  Otabek looked at him, surprise plain on his face.  “Oh, I thought… well I’m a writer.”

 

“Really?  Anything I would’ve read?”

 

“Maybe,” Otabek said vaguely.

 

“Well you’ve got to be pretty successful to be able to afford all this  _ plus _ a full time prostitute.”

 

Otabek shrugged.  “Something like that.”

 

“Okay Mr Vague.  What else should I know?  Should I be worried about a spouse bursting in here one day in a jealous rage?”

 

“What?  NO.”  Otabek shook his head emphatically.  “I’m not married or dating or anything.  I can’t…  It doesn’t work.”

 

“Okay, okay, just checking.  It’s not my business if you want to juggle a few side pieces, but it’s good to know if I need to watch out for some spurned partner.”

 

“No one to worry about that with.  You  _ would _ be the only one I’m sleeping with. Which brings me to another request.  I want to ditch the condoms.”  Otabek held up his hand to stave off the protest Yuri had already started.  “After we’ve both had blood tests.  I’ll show you mine, you show me yours and we should be good to go.  But after that we would need to not sleep with other people, and if you did, then go get tested again.”

 

“If  _ we _ did.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“You said if  _ you _ did.  Meaning just me.  It would apply to both of us.”

 

“Yes.  But that’s not going to be an issue for me.  It’s not like there’s anyone…  But for you, it would mean not taking any other customers and not having an outside physical relationship.”  He wrinkled his nose again.  “You don’t, do you?”

 

“Have a boyfriend?  No.  And if you’re paying me as much as what you’re saying, then I wouldn’t need to take any other customers, so that wouldn’t be a problem.”

 

“So you’d be willing to go without condoms, then?”

 

Yuri paused.  Barebacking always carried some level of risk, but it seemed like Otabek had thought it through pretty thoroughly.  “After blood tests?”  Otabek nodded.  “Alright, if they both come back clean, I think we could do that.  But I’d want us to get checked again regularly, just in case.  I know you seem to think you won’t be sticking your dick anywhere else, but shit happens.”

 

“That’s fine by me.  Once a month?”

 

“That’s how often I get checked now.  Works for me.  I usually go to the free clinic, but I’m assuming you’d rather go somewhere a little more upscale?”

 

“My personal physician’s office has their own labs.  They could get us results back in a day instead of a week.”

 

“Not that you’re eager or anything,” Yuri laughed.

 

“Eager doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

 

“Okay, well let’s get the rest of this sorted out so that you don’t have to sit there with blue balls all night.”

 

“Does that mean you’re going to say yes?”  Otabek looked so eager that Yuri had to bite back a smirk.  He sure knew how to make a boy feel wanted.

 

“Maybe.  Probably.  But I want to get a few details ironed out before signing on the dotted line, so to speak.”

 

“Like?”

 

“Like, I’ve got four months left on my lease right now.  The rent isn’t anything compared to yours, I’m sure, but it’ll probably cost two months worth to buy out.”

 

“I’ll pay it.”

 

“And I’ll need new school books for this coming semester.”

 

“That’s fine.”

 

“Do you even know how much university tuition costs?  It’s not cheap.”

 

“Not a problem.  I can get in touch with the school’s accounting department and have them charge me directly for your classes.”

 

“You must be richer than I thought.”

 

“Probably.”

 

“What about the extra, then?  Allowance, or whatever.”

 

“How much do you need?”

 

“How much are you willing to give me?” Yuri countered.  Otabek just sat back and crossed his arms, waiting.  Well shit.  How much  _ did _ he need?  If Otabek really was paying all his bills, plus school costs, what did that leave?  He assumed Otabek would pay for them to eat out, and apparently he wouldn’t need to keep buying condoms…  So bus fare and pocket money?  “Ffffive hundred a week?”  He held his breath.  It was probably too much.  But Otabek seemed really, really rich, and-

 

“Okay, five hundred a week.  Do you want me to keep giving you cash, or would direct deposit into your bank account be easier?”

 

“Uh… direct deposit?”  Yuri was in shock.  No, this was more than shock.  This was dumbfounded.  Flabberghasted.  This was surreal.  He grinned.  “Holy shit.”  He laughed at the look of consternation on Otabek’s face.  “Holy shit,” he repeated, laughing.  The confused look faded into a smile when he planted himself in Otabek’s lap.  “Looks like you’ve got yourself a deal, sugar daddy.  I’m all yours.”

 

“I do like the sound of that.”

 

“Sugar daddy?  Or being all yours?”

 

“Mine,” Otabek repeated, voice husky and eyes nearly black with desire.

 

“Then say it again,” Yuri purred.

 

“Mine.”  His hands slid under Yuri’s shirt and ran up the length of his back, then pulled the t shirt off and tossed it away.

 

“Why don’t you take me to bed to test out the merchandise?”

 

Otabek shook his head.  “Here.  I want you to ride my dick right here.”

 

“Your wish is my command.”


	6. Chapter 6

Otabek had dozed off after spending an hour pounding Yuri into his bazillion thread count sheets.  Exhausted as Yuri was by the romp, he couldn’t sleep.  His mind just kept circling around to the arrangement he’d agreed to.  The man currently holding him like a lifeline was going to pay all his bills plus give him extra cash, in return for Yuri living with him and spreading his legs whenever Otabek wanted.  It seemed too good to be true.  Not that Yuri wouldn’t be earning his keep - Otabek’s sex drive was enough to keep two hookers and a fleshlight worn out, let alone just Yuri - but he still worried that sometime, the other shoe was going to drop.  Like Otabek had a secret cutting kink that he hadn’t mentioned yet, or he was going to start using Yuri for medical experiments or something.  

 

If that  _ wasn’t _ the case, if Otabek really was just a lonely rich guy too awkward to have a real relationship, then this really was going to be the answer to all Yuri’s problems.  Should he feel bad about being Otabek’s live in toy?  Maybe he ought to, but fuck, it was better than picking up Johns on the street corner.  And if Otabek could afford it and Yuri didn’t mind, then everyone was getting what they wanted and it didn’t hurt anyone.  So no problem, right?

 

Yuri was pragmatic enough for it not to bother him that someone else would be paying his bills.  He was independent and practical, yes, but he wasn’t stupid enough to look a gift horse in the mouth.  His self worth wasn’t tied up in how he made his money, and anyway, the arrangement was temporary.  Even if by some miracle it lasted two years, Yuri would be able to get a real job by then with his degree.  Then he’d be getting paid well enough that maybe  _ he’d  _ pay  _ Otabek _ for sex.  Heh.  Er, maybe that would just be hooking up, since Otabek probably didn’t need the money.  But he could see that.  If Otabek didn’t end up being a total dick, Yuri probably wouldn’t mind fucking him from time to time, just for fun.  

 

He eventually fell asleep thinking about being a rich and famous architect texting Otabek for a booty call.

 

***

 

Otabek woke up from the insistent throbbing in his cock.  It wasn’t unusual.  He often woke up in the middle of the night feeling like he was going to burst if he didn’t get some relief.  What  _ was _ unusual - but wouldn’t be for long, he reminded himself - was having a warm, willing body beside him to fuck.  No more midnight sessions with just his hand, no more feeling like a freak for humping into a toy at four in the morning, no more trying to  _ will _ away his erection so he could just fucking  _ think _ .

 

Yuri solved all of that.  Sexy, pliant little Yuri who took his cock without complaint, who let Otabek hold him for hours on end, who laughed instead of being offended when Otabek said something tactless.  Yuri was a godsend.  Otabek pulled a condom from the nightstand and reminded himself to call the doctor’s office as soon as they opened so that they could get rid of the rubbers.  He couldn’t wait to feel Yuri skin to skin.  Couldn’t wait to come inside him, to watch it drip down his thighs as they cuddled…

 

Just thinking about it was enough to make Otabek nearly mindless with want.  He shifted until he could straddle Yuri’s hips and pressed the head of his cock against Yuri’s hole testingly.  It slipped forward without much force, so Otabek didn’t pull back to stretch him any more.  He pushed in slowly, taking his time and enjoying the steady feeling of heat engulfing his cock.  Yuri stirred, his body clenching a little.  Otabek moaned in response and thrust the rest of the way in. 

 

Yuri groaned.  Otabek nuzzled his neck and then bit down softly on his shoulder, moving in and out unhurriedly.

 

“Couldn’t even wait till I woke up, huh?” Yuri asked, voice still rough with sleep.  Otabek supposed he should feel bad about that, or maybe even worry about permission, but Yuri didn’t seem to mind, and he supposed this fell under the ‘available any time Otabek wanted’ part of their arrangement.

 

“That a problem?” he asked back.

 

“Depends.”

 

“On?”

 

“Can I go back to sleep?”

 

“Won’t bother me any.”

 

“Then knock yourself out,” Yuri drawled, snuggling back down into the pillow.  Otabek bit back a moan.  This was exactly what he’d wanted.  This was what he needed.  He held onto Yuri tighter and sank inside him until he found nirvana.

 

The sun rose three hours later, and Yuri woke with it.  Otabek wasn’t in bed, which surprised him.  Every other morning he’d woken to Otabek sleeping practically on top of him, or running his fingers over Yuri’s skin, if he was already up.  Not that Yuri minded. It was kind of nice to stretch out in the huge bed all on his own.  Eventually he was going to have to look at the tags on them or something so that he could buy a set for himself when he left.

 

“Doctor can do our blood tests in twenty minutes.  Think you can be ready by then?”  Otabek came in holding a mug of coffee.

 

“Jesus, you don’t waste any time, do you?”  He eyed the coffee jealously.  “Least you could have done was bring me some if I’m gonna get pricked  _ twice _ this morning.”

 

Otabek laughed.  “This  _ is _ for you, ingrate.”

 

“Oh.”  Yuri’s mood instantly lifted.  “Gimmie.”  Otabek obligingly handed over the coffee, pressing a kiss to Yuri’s forehead as he did so.

 

“Now drink that in a hurry.  And skip the shower.  If you get in there we’ll never get to the appointment on time, and if we miss this appointment, then we have to wait till Monday.  I don’t want to wait that long.”

 

“Impatient much?”  Yuri smirked.

 

“For you?  Hell yes.”

 

“What a charmer.  Fine, I’ll skip the shower.  But you owe me one later.”

 

Yuri finished his coffee and dressed, thankful that he’d worn regular clothes over the night before instead of his street corner get up.  He didn’t think they would approve of his booty shorts and crop top at the doctor’s office, especially if it was a ritzy place.  The clinic people probably wouldn’t have even batted an eye.

 

Despite how eager Otabek had been for them to go, he seemed far less excited once they stepped out on the street.  Yuri thought it was strange at first, but then he remembered what Otabek had said about social anxiety.  Apparently he hadn’t been kidding.  Otabek’s face was pinched, his whole body seeming to radiate hostility.  There were few people out on the streets, but anytime someone came too close, Otabek glowered and stepped away.  It was strange how  _ nice _ it made Yuri feel that Otabek didn’t seem bothered by their own proximity.

 

On the main street they hailed a cab, and Otabek managed to grate out the address of the doctor’s office before falling silent again.  He gripped Yuri’s hand like a vice.  Yuri had no idea how the fuck he was supposed to help, so he just squeezed back and said nothing.

 

Inside the doctor’s office, things seemed to somehow get  _ worse _ .  Otabek walked them right up to the receptionist’s desk - not letting Yuri’s hand go - and stood there silently as the petite red head blinked up at them.

 

“Otabek Altin. I have an appointment.”

 

“Oh!  Yes, we have you on the books for a blood draw?”  Otabek only nodded.  “And if I could just have you look over these and tell me if any information has changed since your last visit?”  She handed him a clipboard, which Otabek scanned and then pushed back at her.  “O-okay.  Thank you, Mr Altin.  And you must be our second blood draw, Mr…”  

 

Otabek tensed up so tightly that Yuri thought he would turn to stone.  “Plisetsky.  Yuri Plisetsky,” Yuri introduced himself and extended a hand.

 

“Wonderful.  If you’ll just fill these out while you wait.  And do you have a copy of your insurance card?”

 

“Uh-”  Yuri didn’t  _ have _ insurance.

 

“I’ll do it.  Pay.  For him, I mean.  You’ve already got mine.  Insurance-”  Otabek flushed and closed his mouth, pulling out his wallet instead.  He grabbed an indeterminate amount of money and shoved it at the receptionist.  “Here.”

 

“Oh!  Well thank you, but why don’t you hold onto that until we get a bill finalized for you?  I can send it directly to you, Mr Altin, if you’d prefer?”  She looked from the handful of cash, to Yuri, to Otabek.  The color on his cheeks brightened further.

 

“That’d be great-” Yuri glanced down at the nametag on her shirt, “Linda.  Thanks.”  She nodded, still looking at them as if they might try and jump over the desk at her.  “We’ll just have a seat while we wait, then.”

 

Yuri tugged Otabek along, moving to a row of chairs on the far wall of the office before sitting down.  Otabek went with him willingly and sat very close.  “Deep breaths there, big guy.  In and out.  The pretty lady isn’t going to bite you.”  Otabek turned and glared at him.  “Alright, no jokes then.  How about we just stick to the breathing.  In and out, easy peasy.”  Yuri took exaggerated breaths and watched Otabek mimic them.  His death grip on Yuri’s hand eased fractionally.  “You really weren’t joking about how you get around people, were you?”

 

Otabek shook his head.  After the disastrous babbling at the desk, he seemed reluctant to open his mouth again.  “Well then it’s a good thing this should be pretty painless, right?  Just a nurse to stick you and then we can head back.  Unless you’d like to go to the mall or do a book signing?”  Otabek’s face paled.  “Right, no jokes.  Sorry.  Straight home, then.  Or, hey, we could go to my place and I could pack my shit up.  There’ll probably be some people in the halls, but this whole scary silent vibe might actually be a good thing there.  Maybe the neighbors will think you’re my bodyguard.  We could pretend that I’m like Eddie Murphy from that one movie and I’ve been a foreign prince this whole time living willingly in squalor and you’ve come to take me back to the palace.  Or maybe-”

 

“Otabek Altin?”  A nurse stepped through the door leading to the back of the offices and looked up from her clipboard.  The little smile, which Yuri had been working his  _ ass _ off to put on Otabek’s face, vanished.  He rose, not letting Yuri’s hand go.  “Oh, Mr Altin… and friend.”

 

“Hi, I’m Yuri.”  He waved brightly.  “I’m next on your list anyway.”

 

“O-okay.  Right this way.”   She gestured them down a hall and into a small room with a table covered in paper and three chairs.  Otabek sat in one of the chairs and Yuri sat next to him.  He tried to pull his hand away to start on his own paperwork, but Otabek didn’t let it go.  Instead, he settled for balancing the clipboard on his knee and checking boxes with his left hand.  “So then.  I see we’re doing a blood draw for an STD panel today.”  Otabek nodded.  Yuri attempted to write his birthday with his left hand.  It looked like it had been written by a kindergartener.  “Any changes in your medical history since we saw you last?”  Otabek shook his head.  “Alright, what about changes in your sexual activity?”

 

Otabek pointed at Yuri.  Both Yuri and the nurse blinked at him.  “Uh, yes, hi.  I’m the change in his sexual activity.”  He gave a little salute with the pen.

 

“Oh.  Well… uh, have you had multiple partners in the last six weeks?”

 

“Him?  Or me?”

 

“Him. I mean, you, Mr Altin.”  She looked between them.  Otabek shook his head.  “Okay, and any unprotected sex?”  Otabek shook his head again.  “Would you like us to run an AIDS/HIV screening as well?”  A nod.  The nurse looked back at her clipboard, scratched out a note, then cleared her throat.  “And I have here that you’ve authorized your results to be released to someone else?”  Otabek pointed at Yuri.

 

“Hi again.  That’s me.  And vice versa with mine.”

 

“Right.  Well let me just roll up your sleeve here and I’ll get the blood sample.”  She looked for a moment as though she would have liked to draw from Otabek’s left hand, but since he didn’t look inclined to release his hold on Yuri, she used his right.  Once the little vial was full, she labeled it and then turned to Yuri.  “Alright, your turn Mr Plisetsky.  Would you like Mr Altin to leave while we talk?”

 

Yuri glanced at Otabek.  He didn’t particularly want Otabek to hear his whole medical history, but it wasn’t like he was ashamed, plus he felt bad just thinking about sending Otabek out on his own with how much this was bothering him.  “Nah, we’re good.”

 

The nurse raised a brow, but didn’t question him.  “So I believe this is the first time we’ve seen you here?”

 

“Yeah, I usually go to the clinic on Farnham.  They’ve got all my records.”

 

“Okay, we’ll just have you sign a release and we can obtain copies of them then.  If I may?”  She held out her hand for the half finished paperwork.  Yuri handed it over.  “Any family history of cancer, high blood pressure, or heart disease?”

 

“Uh, maybe?  My parents died when I was young and their records got lost in the system apparently.”

 

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”  She gave him a sympathetic look and Yuri felt Otabek’s grip on his hand tighten again.  Yeah yeah.  Poor little orphan boy.  Moving on.  “In that case, if you don’t mind, I’ll take a pressure reading quickly.”

 

“Go ahead.”  Yuri offered her his left hand and looked over to Otabek while she was bent over his elbow.  Otabek looked like he wanted to say something.  Yuri just shrugged casually and smiled.  A little of the tension left Otabek’s shoulders.  He even attempted a smile back.  It looked kind of like he’d just stepped on a tack, but it was a nice gesture regardless.

 

“One fifteen over ninety.  Very good.  Now I’ll just get a quick heart rate.”  She pressed her stethoscope to his chest and looked at her watch.  A moment later, she made another note on her clipboard.  “Perfect.  Now, have you had multiple sexual partners in the past six weeks?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Any unprotected sex?”

 

“Nope.” 

 

“Recreational drug use?”

 

“No.”

 

“Have you or any of your partners been treated for an STD in the past?”

 

“Uh, I haven’t, but I can’t say for sure about my partners.”  Yuri shifted, knowing the turn the conversation was about to take.

 

“Alright, how many partners have you had in the last six weeks?”

 

“An exact number?” Yuri hedged.  He wasn’t ashamed of who he was and what he did.  He really wasn’t.  But it seemed so much more vulgar in this cheery office than it did down at the clinic.

 

“An estimate, if you’re not sure.”

 

“In the last six weeks?  Maybe, uh, two dozen?  Maybe- more than that?”

 

Her eyebrows rose, and Yuri saw the exact moment that recognition hit.   _ Ding ding ding, give the lady a prize _ .  “And you have practiced safe sex with all of your- partners?”

 

“I said yes.”

 

“Even-”

 

“He said no unprotected sex.  Of any kind.”

 

They both turned to stare at Otabek.  He flushed, but continued glaring at the nurse until she quelled.  Yuri felt a ridiculous surge of warmth on the heels of the shock.  Hell, and they said chivalry was dead.

 

“O-of course.  Let me just get a blood sample from you, then, and you both can be on your way.”

 

Yuri extended his arm to her again and let her slip the needle in. He barely felt it.  He didn’t need anyone to defend him. He didn’t even need to defend his own choices.  Not to this nurse, not to anyone.  But fuck a duck if it didn’t feel nice to have Otabek stand up for him like that.  Especially considering the circumstances.  Yuri wouldn’t have thought there was a force on earth that could have made him utter one more word than absolutely necessary.

 

Once Yuri had a little cotton ball taped to the inside of his elbow, the nurse ushered them out, saying that the doctor would call them with their results that afternoon and physical copies would be mailed to them the following week.  Yuri gave a slight wave without turning back, and then they were back out onto the street.

 

“Hey, wanna walk from here?  My place actually isn’t that far.”

 

“Sure.”  Otabek’s voice was still tight, but his shoulders relaxed as they turned down an empty street. 

 

“So,” Yuri said casually, freeing his hand from Otabek’s and wrapping it around his waist.  “That was fun.”  Otabek grunted in response.  “Is this how you… always are?  Around people?”

 

“I don’t like the… attention.”

 

“Any particular reason?”

 

Otabek shrugged.  Yuri was beginning to think that was his go-to response out in public.  “Well in any case, I appreciated you standing up for me when she realized I’m a hooker.”  Otabek just shrugged again, but he draped his arm over Yuri’s shoulders and kissed the top of his head.  Yuri didn’t even bother to try and stifle his smile.

 

At the apartment complex, Yuri glanced over again.  Otabek had relaxed exponentially on the walk there, but the hallways of the building were cramped, and there were bound to be people loitering in the halls.  Pushy ones, too.  Not that he thought anyone would give someone as big as Otabek any trouble.

 

“So, are you gonna be my foreign handler, sent to bring me back to my home country where I’ll be forced to pop out a few heirs and take the throne?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Like in the movie.  You’re gonna give everyone the evil eye and pretend that I’m royalty you’re smuggling outta this joint.”

 

“Uh, yeah.  I mean, yes, your majesty.”

 

“Cool.  Alright, let’s go.”  Yuri pushed open the door and let the smell of stale smoke, pot, and unwashed bodies hit him.  There was a small crowd of people in the lobby, three of them having an argument with the landlord and the rest watching with idle interest.  Otabek froze for a moment, then took a deep breath and steeled himself.  “I bet the king and queen would be pissed if they knew you were dicking their only son.”

 

“I won’t tell if you won’t.”  Otabek put his shoulders back and scowled at the ruffians in the lobby.  “Let’s go and collect your things, Prince Yuri.”  He ushered Yuri forward and through the room.  One look at Otabek’s face - and the body to back up the obvious threat there - and the metaphoric sea parted.  They made it to the stairs without being stopped.  When they reached the first landing, the group of teens lounging there drinking scattered.  On the fourth floor, a man and woman screaming at each other in the hall turned like they were going to scream at the interlopers too, but fell silent.  Halfway down the hall to Yuri’s apartment on the sixth floor, an obviously high old man grabbed Yuri’s arm and asked if he had any coke for sale.

 

Otabek pried the fingers off his arm and pushed them back at their owner.  The old man looked up at Otabek in shock, made the sign of the cross, and backed into his apartment.  Yuri snorted.  “You’re kinda fuckin handy to have around, you know that?”

 

“Is it always like this?”

 

Yuri unlocked his door and then then closed it behind them before answering.  “Sometimes better, sometimes worse.”  He grabbed his backpack, duffle bag, and a cardboard box filled with packing peanuts.  After dumping the packing peanuts in the trash, he started stuffing his clothes inside.

 

“Uh- is there anything I can do to help?”

 

Yuri glanced over his shoulder at Otabek, who was standing in the only open section of floor shifting his weight uncomfortably.  He really didn’t own much, and of what he did, he only wanted to take about half of it with him.  “Not really.  Wait, maybe gather those papers on the counter up for me?  Just roll them up instead of folding them.  They aren’t supposed to have any creases in them.”

 

Otabek obligingly began stacking the papers.  “Are these your designs?”  Yuri glanced back at him from the closet.

 

“That one on top is mine.  The others are famous buildings in Italy.  I’m making blueprints of them from pictures.”

 

“Wow.  This is… really good.”

 

“I think I’m offended at how surprised you sound.”  Yuri dumped a pair of shoes into his duffle and wondered if he could get Otabek to buy him new ones.  Maybe he would wait to suggest another outing until Otabek had recovered from this one.

 

“I didn’t mean-  I was just-”

 

“Relax,” Yuri cut in, seeing how flustered Otabek was getting.  “I was joking.”  Otabek let out a breath and nodded.

 

“Good.  That’s… good.”  He turned to gathering the rest of the papers while Yuri moved into the little makeshift kitchen.  How much of this shit did he really want to cart around with him?  Most of it had come from the dollar store and wouldn’t be worth moving again after he left Otabek’s.  He grabbed a few things from the cupboards and dropped them into the box.

 

“I actually tried to design something like that when I first started taking my architecture classes.  Didn’t look half as nice, and worse, it would have collapsed if anyone had been stupid enough to build it.  I didn’t really know jack shit about engineering and solid structuring.”  He laughed, taking a few recipes that he’d had stuck to the fridge and tossing them into the box as well.  “I just thought it would be cool and edgy to make something no one had ever seen before.”

 

“Well it definitely looks unique to me.”

 

“It’s not, really.  It’s basically an amalgam of all my favorite buildings.  But famous architecture is famous for a reason, right?  So I figure I can take all the bits I like from them and smash them together in a structurally sound way and maybe something good will come out of it.”

 

“I think you’ve succeeded.”

 

“Well thanks, but my professor has to think so, too.”

 

Otabek asked him about his classes while Yuri packed up the rest of his things.  It was almost depressing, really, how easily his whole life fit into a box, a duffle bag, and a backpack.  But so what if he’d been living modestly.  One day that was all going to change, and for now, he got to indulge in someone else’s luxury.

 

“Alright, I think that’s everything.”

 

“You don’t want to take any of the furniture, or-”

 

“The bed was here when I moved in, and that chair wouldn’t survive a taxi ride.”

 

“The bedding?”  He eyed it warily, probably wondering if it had come with the apartment, too.

 

“Are you fucking kidding?  Have you  _ felt _ your sheets?  Like I’d want to go back to these after spending any length of time on those.”

 

“Point taken.”  Otabek closed the top of the box, slung the strap of the duffle bag across his chest, and offered Yuri the backpack.

 

“And now, my loyal guard, you’ve just got to get me out of this shithole and you’ll have done your duty to the throne.”

 

“After you, your majesty.”

 

They made it down the stairs without incident, but were stopped by a screech from the portly landlord.  “Don’t think you can duck out on rent, you little fucker,” he snapped at Yuri, studiously ignoring the intimidating looking man beside him that could easily have snapped the landlord like a toothpick.  “You still got time on your lease!”

 

Yuri opened his mouth to reply, but Otabek pushed the box into his arms instead.  “How much?”

 

“What?”

 

“How much to buy out his lease?”

 

“I, uh-”  The landlord did a few calculations, which Yuri would have bet his left nut he was padding the hell out of.  “Seven hundred,” he finally demanded.  Otabek pulled the money from his wallet and handed it over wordlessly, then herded Yuri outside while the landlord gaped after them.

 

“Flashing that much cash is a good way to get robbed in this neighborhood, you know.”

 

Otabek lifted his shoulders in his trademark shrug, the ‘guard’ persona that had seen him through the last several minutes falling away.  “But thanks.  I mean, I know we agreed on it and all, but yeah.  Thanks anyways.”  Halfway down the block, Yuri stuck his hand out for a cab.  “I could always pay you back by giving you head in the back of the taxi,” he offered.  Otabek paled so quickly that Yuri thought he might faint.  “Or not.  No public sex, then.  We’ll just sit in the back of the car like civilized people and not draw attention to ourselves.”

 

Otabek nodded gratefully.  This time, Yuri was able to give the cabbie the address so that Otabek didn’t have to talk again.  Otabek flashed him a grateful look and squeezed his hand.

 

It wasn’t until they’d gotten back inside Otabek’s and locked the door behind them that he truly relaxed.  It looked like someone had pulled a plug from him and he was slowly deflating.  Yuri dumped his stuff on the floor and turned his attention to Otabek.

 

“Okay now, how do we recharge your batteries?  Lunch?  Wanna watch some TV?  A hot shower?”

 

Otabek scooped Yuri up into his arms and carried him back to the bedroom.  “Or sex.  Sex works.”  But Otabek didn’t even bother to get all the way naked.  He tossed his shirt haphazardly aside, kicked away his jeans, and practically dove under the covers.  Yuri barely had the chance to follow suit before he was tugged down as well.  They shifted around for a moment, then Otabek found a comfortable spot and let out a long, relieved breath.

 

The room was dark with the curtains pulled shut, and quiet except for the sound of their breathing.  Otabek slowly stroked his fingers over Yuri’s skin, then followed the caresses with kisses.  Just when Yuri thought it was leading to sex, Otabek rested his head against Yuri’s stomach and closed his eyes.  A few moments, his breaths evened out and Yuri realized that he’d fallen asleep.

 

Apparently lunchtime would have to wait.


	7. Chapter 7

Otabek napped for two hours.  He finally woke up when Yuri’s stomach growling reached dangerous levels.  There were still a few lines around his eyes, but otherwise he seemed back to his normal self.

 

“Lunch?” he asked, looking a little sheepish for keeping Yuri from eating for so long.

 

“Sounds delightful.”

 

“I don’t know what’s in the cupboards, but there’s leftover pizza in the fridge if you want something quick.”

 

“Even better.  I think I’m going to start gnawing on  _ you _ if we don’t get something in me and quick.”

 

Otabek grinned.  “I have no objection to  _ either _ of those requests.”

 

“You’re a dirty old man, Otabek.”

 

“Are you complaining?”

 

“Not a bit.”  Yuri laughed and made a beeline for the kitchen.  He didn’t even bother to heat the pizza up.  It was food of the fucking gods right out of the fridge.  Otabek took the time to microwave his and then the settled onto the couch to watch a rerun of  _ I Hate Micky _ while they ate.  Yuri had downed three slices by the time the show ended.

 

“Where the hell do you pack all that food?”

 

“My dick.”

 

Otabek snorted and rolled his eyes.  “In that case, it’s a good thing you’re a bottom.”  He stopped for a moment, looking almost worried.  “You  _ are _ a bottom, right?”

 

“Sex is business.  You can have me any way you want me, slugger.”

 

“But normally,” Otabek pressed.  “If you’re having sex for fun.”

 

Yuri scoffed.  “I guess that depends on who I’m with.  Kinda hard to bottom with a girl-”

 

“Yuri.”

 

“What?  I don’t know, man.  I like sex in general.  I’m not picky.  There’s a lot more market for work if you’re a bottom, so that’s what I usually stick with.  I’ve topped before and it was fine.  Just-”  Yuri pushed Otabek back against the couch cushions and straddle his hips.  “Just stop trying to think about what  _ I _ want, and focus on what  _ you _ want.  That’s the beauty of paying for it, right?  It’s all about you.  Don’t have to worry about coming too soon or not soon enough, don’t have to worry about if you’re too big or too small, don’t have to worry about your technique or any of that.  You could be the worst lay in the world and I’d still spread my legs for you.”  Otabek did  _ not _ look reassured.  “But the fact that you’ve gotten me off a couple of times now should tell you that you’re doing pretty fucking good regardless.  Just because I like sex doesn’t mean I come every time someone sticks it in me.  So relax and cut yourself a little slack.  That’s what this is all about, right?”

 

Yuri was rocking his hips in a way that left little room in Otabek’s head for thought.  All he could do was  _ feel _ .  Feel the way the heat of Yuri’s thighs enveloped his hardening cock, feel the way Yuri’s breath skittered down his neck, feel Yuri’s hands stroking over his pectorals.  Otabek turned his head, seeking out Yuri’s mouth, desperate for a taste of him-

 

His cell phone rang, loudly.  It vibrated, making the entire couch cushion buzz.  Yuri groaned.  “Talk about a mood killer.”

 

“Ignore it.  It’ll stop eventually.”  Otabek tried to turn him back and get his kiss, but Yuri snatched the phone and thrust it at him.

 

“It says Doctor’s Office.”

 

“Shit.  Almost forgot about that.  Hang on.”  He answered the phone, paused, rattled off some numbers that it took Yuri a moment to realize were his birthdate, then paused again.  After a moment he thanked whoever was on the line and handed Yuri the phone.

 

“Is this Mr Plisetsky?”

 

“It is.”

 

“Can I have you verify your date of birth for me, Mr Plisetsky?”

 

Yuri told it to her in that monotone rhythm everyone has when reciting their birthday.  He rolled his eyes as he did.  It wasn’t as though giving his birthdate was a security measure.  Five seconds with Google would tell anyone that much.

 

“I’m pleased to inform you that all your test results came back normal.  Nothing to worry about.  I also have a release here to tell you the results of Mr Altin’s tests?  His results were the same.  No infections or abnormalities.”

 

“Okay, thanks for letting me know.”

 

“I do have one  more note that the PA asked to see you again in four weeks for a second screening?”

 

“You can very politely tell her that I said to fuck off.  Thanks for calling with the results.”  Yuri hung up and passed the phone back to Otabek.  “So we’re both all clear.  You can bin the rubbers.”

 

“And that good news is why you want someone there to fuck off?”  Otabek looked baffled.

 

“No, that’s just the nurse who got all uppity with me asking to have me go back for another screening in a few weeks.  Judgemental bitch.  I mean, I was getting monthly checkups anyways, and we plan to go back, but it’s my fucking decision and I don’t need anyone preaching at me.  The free clinic might be pretty shitty compared to that place, but at least they don’t try and tell you how to live your life.”

 

“We can go to the clinic for our next checkup if you want.”

 

“I don’t know.  We’ll see.  It  _ was _ nice getting results right away.  Guess it’s a perk of paying out the ass for service.”

 

“Well I’m fine with whatever you decide.  In the mean time, though…”  He trailed off, running his hands over Yuri’s ass in anticipation.

 

“I guess we did have a deal.  I’m all yours.”  Yuri’s declaration turned into a surprised whoop as Otabek stood abruptly, hands still cupping Yuri’s ass.  Yuri wrapped his legs around Otabek’s waist automatically.  “Not at all eager, are you?”

 

“You have no idea,” Otabek growled.  They barely made it to the bed before Otabek dropped Yuri down and stripped off his shorts.  “I can’t wait to feel you wrapped around me with nothing between us.”

 

“It’ll be something different, that’s for sure.  Christ, I haven’t barebacked since I lost my virginity with Bobby Reynolds when I was fifteen.”

 

“I’ll take it as a privilege, then.”  Otabek grabbed a condom after losing his own underwear and blanketing Yuri’s body.  Yuri raised a brow at it.  “Just to get you stretched.  Easier for cleanup that way.”

 

Yuri held up his hands.  “I’m not judging.  You go at it any way your little heart desires.”

 

“In that case, shut up.  You’re distracting me.”  Otabek pressed a kiss to Yuri’s lips when he made a show of sealing them, then began fingering him.  Yuri let his legs fall open and accepted the somewhat sloppy prep job without complaint.  When Otabek finally sank inside of him, it really didn’t feel all that much different physically.  It was hotter, the sting a little sharper, the friction somehow both lessened and increased.

 

What felt most different to Yuri wasn’t any of that, though.  It was how it  _ made him _ feel.  It felt like the end of an unpleasant chapter of his life.  It felt like security and maybe even trust.  It felt like relief and happiness and the beginnings of affection.  Fuck, just thinking about it was enough to get him half hard.

 

Otabek apparently noticed, though Yuri wouldn’t have blamed him if he hadn’t.  “You want-” he huffed and thrust again sharply, “to have-” he gestured down at the burgeoning erection on his next thrust.  Yuri shook his head and wrapped his legs tighter around Otabek’s waist.

 

“This one’s all you.”  There was a pause as Otabek thought about trying to object, then he gave in with a groan and let himself go wild.  At that pace, it only lasted a few minutes longer, then his tongue was filling Yuri’s mouth as his cock emptied itself.  Yuri couldn’t feel the actual fluid, but he could feel the pulses that pushed out each spurt.  It was weirdly hot to think about Otabek’s come spurting inside of him.  Maybe Yuri was kinkier than he thought he was…

 

“Holy  _ fuck _ .  You felt even better than I’d imagined.”  Otabek collapsed on the bed beside him, a lazy grin stretching across his face.

 

“That wasn’t your first time doing it unwrapped, was it?”

 

Otabek shook his head.  “No, with- with my ex, we used to.  But it’s been… god it’s been a long time.  Either it never felt that good before or I just blocked out the memory of it.”

 

“It’s all me,” Yuri bragged boldly.  Otabek chuckled.  “And you can show your gratitude for my amazing talent by ordering dinner.”

 

“Dinner?  We just had lunch.”

 

“It was a late lunch after skipping breakfast.  Plus, it’ll take a while for them to  _ make _ the food and then  _ deliver _ the food.  Might as well get it ordered now.”

 

“Fine, fine, I’ll order food.”  He waved Yuri off and pulled out his phone to order chinese.  While he did, Yuri wandered into the living room to where they’d abandoned his bags when they walked in.  His backpack he set on the kitchen counter to remind himself to do his homework, and he was sorting through the clothes in the duffle bag when Otabek came out.

 

“Hey, where should I put these?” Yuri asked over his shoulder.

 

“Spare room’s through here.  You’re welcome to leave them inside, but you can put your clothes in my closet if it’s easier.  There’s plenty of room.”

 

“Probably more practical,” Yuri reasoned.  He dropped off the box of odds and ends in the sparsely furnished spare bedroom and then shoved the duffle bag of clothes in Otabek’s closet to deal with later.

 

By the time the food arrived half an hour later, Otabek could grudgingly admit that he was, in fact, hungry.  Yuri laughed at the admission.

 

When they were stretched out on the couch with over-full bellies, Yuri propped his head on a pillow and studied Otabek.  “Let’s play a game.”

 

Otabek groaned.  “If it involves repetitive motion, I think I’ll burst.”

 

“No, not a dirty game, you perv.  I meant like truth or dare, except without the dare part.  It’ll be a fun way to get to know each other.”

 

“Alright, sure.  You go first.”

 

“Chicken,” Yuri teased.  “Fine.  Have you always had this much trouble talking to people?”

 

“Not really.  Not this bad, anyways.  I mean, I never liked crowds and I was never going to make a good public speaker, but the anxiety didn’t come until later.”  He looked like he was going to go on, but shook his head.  “My turn now.  Are you really an orphan?  Or do you just not know your medical history?”

 

“Yes, I made up a childhood tragedy just so I wouldn’t have to admit that I don’t know my family medical history.  No, you idiot, I’m really an orphan.  They died when I was five.”

 

“I’m sorry you lost them so young.”

 

Yuri shrugged.  “I manage. My turn again.  Why did you get all weird and clam up when I asked you last week if I would have read anything you’ve written?”

 

“Because you probably have.  Or at the very least you’ve heard of it.”

 

“Well?”  Yuri made a ‘go on’ gesture.

 

“I think that counts as two questions.”

 

“Bite the bullet and just tell me.  It can’t be that bad.”

 

Otabek sighed.  “The  _ Dagger of Lies _ series?”  He almost sounded ashamed.  It took a moment for the name to sink in, and then Yuri gaped at him.

 

“The DoL series?   _ You’re _ BK Gold?   _ You _ ?”

 

“What?” Otabek demanded defensively.

 

“I just… holy shit!  I mean- but they’re…”  Yuri stopped himself from babbling by sheer force of will.  “They’re like the most popular books of the decade!  You’re not rich, you’re  _ obscenely _ rich.  Jesus Christ and I thought it would be gouging you if I asked you to buy me new  _ shoes _ .”

 

“You need new shoes?”

 

“That’s not the  _ point _ .”

 

“It is to me.”

 

“No, no, you’re like… your name is on those ‘richest men under thirty’ lists in trash magazines.  You’re  _ famous _ .”

 

“And I can’t go outside my house without going bat shit crazy.”

 

“Who cares?  Lots of great writers were hermits.  Look at how far Hemingway went to escape neighbors.  I just can’t believe I’m fucking BK Gold.  I’ve had BK Gold’s cock in my throat.  I could probably sell the condom you fingered me with on ebay.”

 

“That… would be disgusting.”

 

“And someone would fucking  _ buy _ it.”

 

“Which is even more disgusting.”

 

Yuri just laughed.  “I still can’t believe it.  That’s crazy.  You’re like, amazingly talented.”

 

“One successful series does not mean that I’m talented.”

 

“Oh shut up, you’re seriously, incredibly talented.  Why the hell are you living in an apartment downtown?  You could have like, a mansion on a private island or something.”

 

Otabek grimaced.  “Having a lot of money doesn’t make me want to be an idiot with it.”

 

“You mean like hire a live in prostitute to see to your needs?”  

 

“Aside from that.”

 

“Uh huh.”

 

“Besides,” Otabek defended, “you’re practically a work expense.  I can’t write when all I can think about is how much I want to  _ fuck _ something.”

 

Yuri considered that.  “You  _ do _ have a ridiculously high sex drive.  I can see how that could get distracting.”

 

“Exactly.  Now enough with this crap.  It’s my turn.  You got like three in a row.”

 

“Fine, fine.  Ask me anything.”

 

“Three anythings,” Otabek argued grumpily.  Yuri laughed.

 

“Three anythings,” he agreed.  Otabek considered for a moment, stretching back out on the couch.

 

“When did you start… doing what you do?”

 

Yuri cocked his head.  “Fucking people for money?” he clarified baldly.  Otabek flushed and nodded.  “I waited tables in high school for extra money.  The foster home was supposed to provide everything, but if you didn’t want a fucking toothbrush that had been used by ten kids before you, then you bought your own.  So anyways, I’d been working at this place for a while but I was total shit at it.  No patience for idiots, no ability to make pretty small talk, you know,” he gestured between them and Otabek nodded.  He couldn’t picture Yuri trying to play nice with customers.  “Anyways, I knew I’d need something different to be able to afford rent when I turned eighteen, because I wasn’t making anywhere near enough to live on, and the home booted you to the curb on your birthday whether you were ready or not.  I kinda thought about tryin to find some other legit job, scraping by, but then I looked into how much university was gonna cost me and that idea went right out the window.  There was this one old guy who liked to sit in my section and get a little handsy, and he’d made it pretty clear the offer for more was on the table, so the next night he came in, I took him up on it. By the time I was done working through his group of friends I had enough for a deposit on an apartment and my first semester’s tuition.  The rest, they say, is history.”

 

“You weren’t even eighteen?  That’s… illegal.  For the other guys, I mean.”  Otabek’s nose was wrinkled up in distaste.

 

“I was like four months away, boyscout.  And trust me, nearly eighteen is a lot better than the start some of the other hookers that work Garden Square get.  Some of the pimps get runaways hooked on drugs at thirteen or fourteen and put them on the streets two weeks later.”  Otabek shuddered.  “Exactly.  See?  My story doesn’t seem quite so bad now, does it?”

 

“Just because it’s not  _ as _ bad doesn’t mean it doesn’t still suck.”

 

Yuri waved that away easily and laughed.  “You seem determined to think that I’m a victim of my circumstances.  But I made the decisions I did with my eyes wide open.  I’ve been incredibly lucky to avoid all the pitfalls that catch so many others, and look at me now-”  he gestured grandly around them, “I’m the live in whore to the richest man in the  _ city _ .  I know you can’t see it because of your people issues, but there are a  _ lot _ of gold diggers that would slap a prettier name on this and call it their dream gig.”

 

Otabek sat quiet for a few moments, thinking about that.  Yuri could practically  _ see _ the wheels turning.  Maybe he was working through his own moral code for having hired Yuri.  Maybe he was deciding that he wasn’t such a bad guy for setting up this arrangement.  Maybe he was just deciding once and for all that Yuri wasn’t a victim that needed to be saved from himself.  Either way, when the wheels stopped turning, his eyes were dark with lust again.

 

“Why don’t we put an end to the game for the night?”

 

“Oh? Did you have something else for us to do in mind?” Yuri asked innocently.

 

“I want to see my come all over your pretty face and then watch you swallow it down.”

 

_ Holy shit _ .  How was this the same guy from ten minutes ago?  Yuri could hardly believe that this brazen sex god could be the incapacitatingly nervous man from this morning at the doctor’s.  Otabek was a mass of contradictions, but at just that moment, Yuri didn’t bother to try and work out how the pieces of him fit together.

 

“Here, or in the bedroom?”

 

“On the bed.  I want you to lie on your back on it with your head hanging off so I can fuck your face.”

 

“Your wish is my command,” Yuri drawled, taking Otabek’s hand and leading them to the bedroom.  He draped himself on the bed just as Otabek had described, his mouth open and waiting.  Otabek didn’t waste any time slipping his cock between Yuri’s lips.  He thrust shallowly for a few seconds, then slid all the way in.  Yuri relaxed his throat and hummed a little, keeping his gag reflex in check.

 

Otabek’s cock wasn’t monstrously big or anything, but it wasn’t fucking small by any means, and Yuri kept his jaw wide to accommodate its girth.  After a few slow, steady strokes, Otabek gave up any control at all and began fucking Yuri’s throat with abandon.  As he felt Otabek’s cock start to jump, Yuri readied himself not to react to the ejaculate.  He’d never had to swallow before - never even had to spit, really, since the condoms caught it all - and he wasn’t exactly sure how that would work out.  His own spunk wasn’t the most appealing looking texture, and he guessed that it wouldn’t be the most fun thing in the world to swallow.

 

People in porn always made it look easy.  They smacked their lips and begged for more like it was a rare delicacy.  Yuri hadn’t ever tasted his own, but he assumed it didn’t taste like marshmallow fluff.

 

Otabek groaned low and pulled out.  Yuri took a quick gasping breath, not wanting to inhale come and then choke on it, then closed his eyes and stuck his tongue out.  Warm droplets fell against his chin and cheeks, and a fair amount landed on his tongue.  Otabek rubbed the head of his cock against it, slipping it back inside and urging Yuri to swallow.  He did, and was pleasantly surprised to discover that while he definitely wasn’t marshmallow fluff, it was manageable.  Salty, a little bitter, slick in a way that made him think he was going to want something to wash it down with, but not bad.

 

Which was a good thing, because a moment later, Otabek was using his fingers to feed Yuri the drops that had landed on his face.  What a gentleman.  Yuri licked his fingers clean, then sat up before he got a crick in his neck.  Otabek was watching him with heavy lidded eyes, his chest rising and falling sharply.  His cock hadn’t gone down.  Was he the energizer fucking bunny or something?

 

“Hold that thought, cowboy.”  He held out one hand to stave Otabek off, then slipped out of the bedroom.  He’d half expected Otabek to drag him back with how hungry the look in his eyes had been.  Not wanting to push it and get tackled on the kitchen floor, Yuri took a swig of orange juice quickly, swished it around, took another swallow, then returned to the bed. His ass barely hit the mattress before Otabek pinned him down and kissed him.

 

“You were so good for me,” Otabek whispered to him between kisses.  “Now I want to be good for you.  Tell me how you want it.”

 

“Uh, I’m not sure I’m really-” Yuri bit off a moan as Otabek laved his nipple hungrily.  He cleared his throat to try again.  “I don’t really need to get off right now.”

 

Otabek hummed against him, sliding his tongue over Yuri’s wrists before moving to his inner thigh and biting down.  Yuri arched up to him.  “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.  But tell me what you like and I’ll do my best to change your mind.”  He spoke the words like a wicked promise, and Yuri’s traitorous cock twitched in reply.   _ You slut _ , he chided it firmly.  

 

What he  _ wanted _ , if the choice was all his, was a fucking blow job.  He didn’t think he’d need to make such a big production of coming in Otabek’s mouth - hell, he wouldn’t mind if Otabek spit - but the thought of having his dick between someone’s lips sounded fan-fucking-tastic.  It had been waaaay too long.  But… that wasn’t what Otabek was talking about, and Yuri was working on Otabek’s dime.  So then.  Second choice.

 

“I’ll ride you- but  _ you _ jerk me off.”

 

Otabek groaned at just the thought, then scrambled to switch their positions.  He sat back against the headboard and coated his cock with lube while Yuri climbed on top of him.  “Do you need-” he hissed in a breath when Yuri’s skin slid over him, “stretched?”

 

“If you behave and stay perfectly still for me, I’ll be fine.”

 

Otabek obligingly planted his ass against the mattress and stayed stone still.  Yuri almost laughed at how seriously he was taking his task.  It  _ was _ an important one, though.  If he got impatient and started to thrust before Yuri had adjusted, he’d be in for a world of hurt.  But if he’d thought Otabek would do that, he wouldn't have offered to sit on his dick without prep.

 

Slowly and carefully, he wedged the head of Otabek’s cock against his hole and pushed down.  He relaxed his body, letting the ingress happen naturally.  Otabek’s cock twitched, but otherwise he didn’t move.  One millimeter at a time, Yuri sank down until he had the whole of Otabek’s length in him.  He let out a shuddering breath and leaned his forehead against Otabek’s.

 

“Kiss me,” Otabek whispered, still not moving.  Yuri did so gladly, his arms sliding around Otabek’s shoulders, fingers threading into his hair as he kissed him hard and deep.  He could feel himself clenching rhythmically, body adjusting to the sensation, then slowly ease.  He rocked his hips a little.  Otabek whimpered into his mouth.  Now  _ that _ was hot.  He did it again, and the whimper turned into a moan.

 

“Fuck,” he breathed.  

 

“That’s what I’m trying  _ not _ to do,” Otabek bit back, surprisingly playful despite their positions.  Yuri laughed.

 

“I think you’re in the clear.  Have at me.”

 

“Thank god.”  Otabek let out the breath he’d been holding, spanned his hands around Yuri’s hips, and began thrusting up into him.  Yuri was reminded of just how  _ strong _ Otabek was as he easily bounced Yuri on his cock.  Yuri held on and let him have at it.  He was just thinking that Otabek had forgotten the jerking him off part of this setup when Otabek thrust deep and let go of his hips.  “Your turn.”  He let Yuri set the pace and slipped one of his hands between them to wrap around Yuri’s cock.   _ Oh _ , that was nice.  Really really fucking nice.

 

Yuri’s cock rose eagerly to the occasion, spurred on by Yuri angling his hips so that Otabek’s cock hit his prostate with each thrust.  Otabek squeezed him tight, then began stroking him.  Holy fuck it felt nice to have another hand on his prick than his own.  After two more pumps, Otabek let him go and Yuri positively  _ pouted _ .  Otabek spat into his palm and then rubbed it over the head of Yuri’s cock and  _ oh dear god yes thatwaslovelyyes _ .  Later, Yuri would think it was a little weird.  He would wonder why Otabek didn’t use the lube that was right fucking next to them on the bed.  But at just that moment it was the hottest fucking thing he’d ever seen and it felt like heaven.

 

“Okay,” Yuri gasped, his body thrumming with the need for release, “you’ve ch-changed my mind.”  Otabek growled in satisfaction.

 

“You want to come on my cock?”

 

“Yes-”  Otabek thrust upwards hard and Yuri nearly saw stars.  “Yes!”

 

“Beg for it, kitten.”

 

“Please,” Yuri begged shamelessly.  “Please let me come.  I want to come on your cock. Please, please-”

 

“Come for me,” Otabek demanded, stroking Yuri fast and fucking up into him sharply.

 

“ _ Oh sweet mother of- _ ”  Yuri was cut off with a cry, his orgasm slamming into him with all the force of a fucking freight train.  He barely noticed Otabek pumping into him, or the sweat dripping down his face, or even the way the fingers on Otabek’s other hand dug so deeply into his hip that they left bruises.

 

It was several minutes later before he caught his breath and managed to slip off of Otabek’s lap.  “Well… that was…” he trailed off, hunting for a tissue to wipe his hand down with.

 

“It was the least I could do after fucking your mouth like that.”  Otabek snagged the tissue Yuri had just found, making him grumble and grab another while Otabek began wiping himself down.

 

“I would refer back to my earlier statement about not being required to give the  hooker an orgasm, but you’re not gonna hear me complain if you want to do that again.”

 

“I’ll add it to the roster, then,” Otabek replied with a grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Extra uber bonus points to anyone who figures out my vague and cryptic references to what real life series I've based Otabek's series on ; )


	8. Chapter 8

They spent most of the next day lounging on the couch.  Otabek spent a few hours with his cock in Yuri, not actively thrusting, just using him as a warmer until he was ready for real action.  Yuri took his time soaking in another hot bath after that, claiming Otabek was going to have to give him workman’s comp if he walked bowlegged for the rest of his life.

 

Yuri used the last of the eggs making dumplings for dinner and resigned himself to having a poptart for breakfast in the morning before class.  Otabek politely used Yuri’s mouth instead of his ass that night since the escapade earlier had worn Yuri out, then fell asleep cuddled around him tightly.

 

When Yuri woke up, Otabek was gone.  That was a first, but it was also the first Monday he’d woken up at Otabek’s, so he assumed his - host? landlord? employer? - had already gone off to wherever he did his work for the day.  Yuri luxuriated in a shower, dressed, then headed off to class.

 

It wasn’t until his stomach rumbled  _ loudly  _ in class an hour later that he realized he’d forgotten his poptart.   _ Son of a bitch _ .

 

After an hour of studying in the library, Yuri took the bus back to Otabek’s and let himself in.  The loft was dark and quiet.

 

“Otabek?” he called, wondering if he was still gone.  There was a pile of groceries just inside the door with a receipt on top showing home delivery from the store down the street.  “Otabek?”  A muffled curse came from deeper in the apartment, and Yuri left the groceries where they were in favor of following the sound.

 

A door off the back of the living room was slightly ajar, and there was a light on inside.  Yuri knocked on the door jam and pushed it open.  “Otabek?”

 

“ _ What _ ?!”  Otabek’s snarl made Yuri jump.  He’d never heard Otabek sound so pissed before.  He glared up at Yuri from the keyboard he was clutching.

 

“Uh, I just…”  Yuri took a step back, realizing that while they’d been all sunshine and roses so far, he really didn’t know Otabek that well.  Maybe he’d been drinking.  Maybe he had anger issues that turned violent.  “There’s, uh, groceries.  By the door.  And- I’m back from class.  Hi.”  He gave a little wave.  “So I’ll just…” He gestured vaguely towards the hall and stepped back again.

 

“Yuri, wait-”  Otabek stood, running a hand over his face tiredly and coming around until he could press a kiss to Yuri’s forehead.  “I’m sorry.  Welcome home.”

 

“Uh, thanks.”

 

“I’m working, and I tend to get… unpleasant, when I’m writing.  More so than usual, anyway.”  He kissed Yuri’s forehead again, his eyes softening until he once again looked like someone Yuri recognized.  “I didn’t even hear the delivery people come by with the groceries.  Could you put them away?  I’m right in the middle of- well  _ something _ , and I get a bit… single minded when things are flowing.  I’ll be a little,” he waved, his hand wobbly, “in and out, until I get it all down.”

 

“Okay, yeah.  Sure.”  Yuri smiled a little, reminding himself that this wasn’t just some customer.  This was  _ BK Gold _ , and he was apparently working on a new book.  Yuri could extend a little patience for that.

 

“I haven’t had time to call the bank or the university yet, but I promise I’ll get to it as soon as I get this out.  There’s cash in my wallet on the counter until then.”  He kissed Yuri’s forehead one more time, and Yuri waved him off with a smile.

 

“Yeah, yeah, stop being mushy and go write another best seller.”

 

Otabek flashed him a look of gratitude, then went back to his computer.  Yuri pulled the door closed behind him and went to put away the groceries.

 

He was less than half done when he realized that this was totally unacceptable.  There was barely enough food in the bags to keep Otabek fed, let alone to support Yuri’s junk food habit.  No, this wouldn’t do at all.  He would just do some grocery shopping of his own after class tomorrow.  With Otabek’s money, of course.  His wallet was on the counter just like he’d said, thick with an obscene amount of cash.  A wicked part of Yuri thought about the incredible spending spree he could go on with that much money, but he pushed it aside with a smirk.  He didn’t need to break the rules when he was already getting such a good ride here.

 

Two hundred bucks made it into his backpack for grocery shopping the next day, then Yuri sat down with his homework.

 

Yuri didn’t see Otabek the rest of the night, and if he came to bed at all, he was gone before Yuri woke up.

 

***

 

Yuri barely saw Otabek for the next week and a half.  He got groceries the following day, frowning when he realized nothing in the kitchen had been touched - so Otabek hadn’t eaten - but didn’t know if he ought to disturb him.  Instead, he left an extra portion of dinner in the fridge for Otabek to find later.  Yuri saw him chug a glass of water the next evening, looking exhausted and irritable.

 

“There’s food in the fridge if you-”  Yuri’s words were cut off by the office door slamming.

 

The following night Yuri woke up to Otabek thrusting into him hard and fast.  Just when it began to edge into painful, he came with a strangled groan and pulled away.  By the time Yuri turned on the lamp and rolled over, he’d already pulled his sweatpants back up and was leaving the room.  “You’re  _ welcome _ ,” Yuri called sarcastically.

 

Saturday morning, Yuri put a plate of toast and a mug of coffee down on the desk in front of Otabek and waited.  Otabek glanced up at him without really seeing him, then went back to typing.  Yuri yanked the keyboard away, jumping a little but refusing to back down when Otabek slammed his fist against the desk and snarled.

 

“Eat.”  They glared at each other.  A minute ticked by.  Then two.  “I’m not giving it back until you do.”

 

“I could  _ take  _ it.”  Otabek’s voice was that same graveley, rough-from-disuse that it had been the first night they’d met.

 

“Try it,” Yuri challenged.  He was hoping that Otabek  _ wouldn’t _ actually try it, but the idiot had also gone almost an entire week with barely any food or rest.  Yuri thought his odds were pretty good.  Otabek continued to glower at him for another minute, then shoved an entire piece of toast in his mouth without looking away.  He chased it with half the mug of coffee - which had to have burned the  _ shit _ out of his mouth - and then held out his hand for the keyboard.

 

Yuri pursed his lips, but handed it back to him.  It was  _ something _ at least.

 

Later that evening, Otabek called for him while Yuri was watching another episode of  _ Lightning Bug _ in the living room.  He’d half expected Otabek to be back to normal, but when he went into the office, Otabek was still staring at the computer screen.  He flicked a glance up at Yuri, scooted back from the desk enough that Yuri could see the erection straining against his pants, then  _ snapped his fingers _ and pointed between his legs.

 

What.  The.  Fuck.

 

Yuri glowered.  Otabek spared him another glance, but if he noticed the glare, he didn’t comment. After a huff, which Otabek ignored, Yuri went to his knees between Otabek’s legs.  He sucked Otabek off under his desk while the fucker  _ kept on typing _ .  When he finished, he very pointedly spat it out into the empty coffee mug and left it on the desk.

 

By Tuesday, Yuri was ready to scratch Otabek’s eyes out.  He supposed,  _ technically _ , this was what he was getting paid for, goddamnit if he hadn’t gotten spoiled by a certain amount of…  _ affection _ from Otabek.  Not to mention that between all the zombie fucking and endless typing, his wasting-away employer hadn’t yet called the bank or the school.  If he hadn’t left Yuri so much fucking cash, Yuri would have already stolen his spoons and got the hell outta dodge.

 

He slammed the door on his way back into the loft after class, dropped his backpack down as loudly as possible on the table, and generally made as much noise as he could while getting himself a snack.  His minor hellraising got no reaction, so he stomped to the office and shoved the door open, prepared to give Otabek a piece of his mind.

 

The office was empty.  Well… that was new.  Yuri poked his head into the hall bathroom, just in case he’d missed him somehow.  It was empty as well.  Maybe he’d just left.  Maybe he’d keeled over and paramedics had already carted off his body.  Maybe-

 

Yuri found him curled up on the bed, very much alive, but obviously totally oblivious to the world considering Yuri’s very noisy rampage hadn’t woken him.  Yuri considered poking him with a stick until he woke up.  He considered dumping a bucket of water on Otabek’s head.  He considered taking a hefty chunk of the new stack of cash he saw on the nightstand and leaving without looking back.

 

He told himself that it was the look of complete and total  _ relief _ that was on Otabek’s face that made him change his mind.  It was nice to see, after there being nothing but stark desperation on his face for so long.  He told himself it was because, as long as Otabek snapped out of it, this was still a great gig for him.  And he absolutely refused to consider that the real reason he stayed, the reason he tucked the covers up around Otabek’s shoulders, the reason he put a glass of water on the nightstand for when he woke up, was because Otabek had the shirt Yuri had worn the day before snuggled up under his nose like a security blanket.


	9. Chapter 9

The smell of coffee woke Yuri.   _ Oh _ , that was lovely.  He wondered if he could get Otabek to buy one of those automatic coffee makers that-  

 

Otabek.  Oh.  _ Oh _ .  Yuri sat up, ignored his god awful bedhead, and dashed into the kitchen.  Otabek was at the stove, cooking.  He turned when he heard Yuri come in.  He rubbed the back of his neck with the hand not holding the spatula and managed to look sufficiently ashamed of himself.  What was more, he looked  _ like _ himself.  Not the hollow eyed beast he’d been for the last week and a half.

 

“Uh, hi.”

 

Yuri studied him, trying to decide if the relief of having him back to himself was enough to make up for all the pent up anger that had been building for a week.  “Hi.”

 

“I’m… making breakfast.  To… apologize.  For…” He waved his hand in an all encompassing gesture.

 

“You mean for snapping at me, neglecting important fucking parts of our deal, using me like a goddamn cocksleeve, and ignoring me the rest of the time?”

 

Otabek paled.  “...yeah.  That.”

 

“You scared the shit outta me.  I almost bailed.”  Yuri stared him down while pouring coffee for himself.  If possible, Otabek paled further.

 

“I s-scared you?”  He swallowed hard.

 

“I wasn’t scared  _ of _ you, dickhead.  I thought you were gonna drop dead or something.  I practically had to pour fluids down your throat.”

 

“Oh.”  There was a pop on the stove behind him, and Otabek turned to pull the pan off the heat.  When he looked back at Yuri, he was biting his lip.  “I… appreciate that.”  Yuri didn’t acknowledge the gratitude.  “If I- will you push me away if I try to touch you?”

 

“Are you still paying me?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Then have at it.”  He put down his coffee and opened his arms.  “But don’t think this means-”  He was cut off by Otabek practically smothering him in a hug.  Otabek’s hands ran fervently over his skin, he nuzzled Yuri’s neck, pressed them as close together as they could get.  Which was pissing Yuri off, to be honest, because it was really fucking hard to stay mad at the asshole when he was acting like he was a cat and Yuri was his favorite catnip mouse.

 

“I’m glad you’re still here,” Otabek mumbled against Yuri’s neck.

 

“Yeah yeah,” Yuri huffed.  “Now that you’re de-zombified, I expect you to call the bank and the University  _ today _ or next time you come at me with a hard on I’m gonna shove it up  _ your _ ass.”

 

“I’ll do it as soon as they open,” he promised.

 

“And you’re buying me new shoes.”

 

“Absolutely.”

 

“And we’re getting a coffee pot in here that starts automatically.”

 

“Whatever you want.”

 

“Now that’s a dangerous thing to say.”  Yuri grinned.

 

“I don’t care.  I’m just glad you’re here.  And I’m sorry I was such a prick.  I barely remember it all.”

 

Yuri pulled back.  “What, were you in a fugue state or something?”

 

“Uh, not really, but kind of?  I’m always obsessive with my writing, but when I’m working on dark stuff it fucks with my head for a while.  But I finished the novel, so I’ll be back to normal while I edit and-”

 

“Wait, you finished a whole novel?  When did you start it?  Is it part of the  _ Dagger of Lies _ series?  Can I read it?”

 

Otabek finally let go of Yuri and turned back to the kitchen.  “I started it last Sunday night, it’s not part of the DoL series but takes place in the same universe, and no.  Not yet, anyways.”  He set a plate of restaurant quality looking eggs benedict, bacon roses, golden toast and seared asparagus in front of Yuri.

 

Yuri opened his mouth to reply, then saw the food and froze.  His eyes were as big as saucers as he looked from the food to Otabek.  “You can  _ cook _ ?”

 

“...yes?”

 

“What the-  This is-  You  _ said _ you didn’t!”

 

“I said I usually don’t.  And I usually don’t.  Why would I take the time to make fancy meals just for myself?  Eating cereal over the sink usually seemed like a better option.”

 

“Than  _ this _ ?  Holy fuck.  Here I’ve been trying to play ameteur chef and you’re already Gordon fucking Ramsay.”

 

“Your cooking is very good,” Otabek objected.  Yuri glowered at him.

 

“Shut up.   _ You’re  _ going to cook dinner.  And tomorrow’s breakfast.  And a bunch after that.  Got it?”  He waited for Otabek to nod, then cut into his eggs and practically melted at the first bite.  “ _ Ohmigodthisisfantastic _ .”

 

“Yay?”

 

Yuri snorted.  “So anyway, back to the writing.  Did you really say you finished a whole fucking novel in a week and a half?”  He chugged the juice Otabek slid in front of him.

 

“It’s not  _ done _ done.  I still need to edit it, and it’ll get edited again at the publisher, and then it gets passes back and forth for a while, but the first draft is done.”

 

“That… seems impressive.  How long is it?”

 

“Like, two hundred thousand words?”

 

“How many pages is that?”

 

“Well,  _ Pillars of Sand _ was a hundred and seventy thousand.  So a bit bigger than that.”

 

“Holy shit.  And you wrote all that in a week and a half?”  Otabek nodded.  “No wonder you don’t do anything else.”

 

“It, ah, actually really helped- having you here.  Usually I get so pent up that I can’t focus on what I’m trying to do and I just end up writing these insane porn scenes and then getting writers block.  So… thanks.  For letting me- you know.”

 

“Now I kinda wanna read some of those porn scenes,” Yuri said with a smirk.  “And hey, it’s pretty cool that I got to have a hand in helping you get your next book written.  Seriously, though, next time you snap your fingers at me like a dog, I’ll bite them off.”

 

“You mean that was  _ real _ ?”  Otabek turned pruce.  “Shit.  Shit shit shit.  I’m sorry.  Oh god that was awful.  I’m sorry.

 

“What did you think it was, a hallucination?”

 

“Or a really vivid fantasy. I don’t fucking know.”

 

“Yeah, well that was me, your real life fucktoy.”

 

“I’m sorry.”  Otabek hung his head.

 

“Technically it’s what you’re paying me for, but I’ve got too much self esteem to be treated like nothing but a warm hole on a regular basis, so let’s just get things back to normal and we’re all good.”

 

“Of course.  And I’m sorry.  Really.  My head just… goes to some dark places sometimes.”

 

“No harm, no foul.  Now I hate to break this up, but I’ve gotta get to class and you’ve got phone calls to make, so if you want to go at it before I go, it’ll have to be a quickie.”

 

Otabek’s cock leapt at the thought, but he pushed it back down.  Literally.  “I don’t want to make you late.  I can wait till tonight.”

 

“You sure about that, scout?  Looks like the dachshund in your pants disagrees.”  Yuri checked his watch.  “Better hurry.”  Otabek crossed to Yuri and shook his head.

 

“As much as I like the idea of sending you off to school full of my come, I can wait.  I’ll take my time riding you when you get home.”

  
“After homework,” Yuri clarified.

 

“After homework,” Otabek agreed.

 

***

 

“So why can’t I read your book?”  Yuri after Otabek rolled off him.  It had been bugging him since that morning. 

 

“Huh?”  Otabek tried to catch his breath.  He’d been fucking Yuri for the last hour, through Yuri’s orgasm - which had happened fifteen minutes in, but Otabek hadn’t been done by a long shot - and through two of his own.  He wasn’t up for coherent conversation yet.

 

“This morning, you said I couldn’t read your book.  Why not?”  

 

Otabek groaned.  This again?  “I said not  _ yet _ .  The first draft is a mess.  By the time it goes to print, there could be whole plotlines that are cut, characters erased, not to mention all my typos and fuck ups are edited out.”

 

“But that’s what would make it so cool to read.  No one else but you and the printer people get to read this version.”

 

“Publisher and editor,” Otabek corrected automatically.

 

“Yeah, them.  So it would be cool to read the version that the public doesn’t get.  C’mon, I’ll blow you under the desk again…”

 

“Fuck… you really want to read it that much?”  Yuri nodded.  “Fine.  But let me at least get all the typos out.  Give me like a week to get through it.”

 

“Alright, fine.  A week.”  He rolled to his side and smacked Otabek on the ass.  “Now go make me dinner, wench.”

 

“Wench?”  Otabek watched Yuri rise from the bed and walk towards the bathroom, his eyes hungrily following a bead of come that slid down his thighs.   _ Fuck _ that was hot.

 

“What, I haven’t come up with a good nickname for you.  Just go with it.”  He flipped the bird when Otabek laughed, then closed himself in the bathroom.

 

***

 

“Ota,” Yuri tried, resting his head on his hands, which were folded atop Otabek’s chest.

 

“How bout no.  That means ‘dad.’”

 

“Well that just brings whole new meaning to  _ sugar daddy _ , doesn’t it?”

 

Otabek grimaced.  “No.  Try again.”

 

“Fine.  Beck.  No, that’s too douchey.”

 

“Uh, thanks?”

 

“Becks.  Kinda sounds like a cop name on one of those crime dramas.  Becks and Yuri, kicking ass and taking names.”

 

“Ugh.”

 

“Spoilsport.  Wait, I’ve got it.  Beka.”

 

“Really?”

 

“What?  It’s short, cute, and it fits you.  Beka.”

 

“I guess it’s better than  _ dad _ or Beck.”

 

“It’s settled, then.  No complaining about it.”

 

“What about you?  Don’t I get a nickname for you?”

 

“Yuri’s already short and cute.”

 

“But I already know a Yuri, and the two of your are  _ nothing _ alike.  Plus it feels incredibly awkward to call his name during sex.”

 

“It was  _ my _ name first.”

 

“I doubt it.  Pretty sure he’s older than you.”

 

“So? It’s still  _ my _ name.  He should be the one to get a nickname.”

 

“What about  _ Yurio?” _

 

Yuri made a gagging sound.  “No fucking way.”

 

“YuYu?”

 

“Only if you want me to spit in your coffee every morning.”

 

“No, thank you.  How about  _ Yura _ ?”

 

“Eh.”

 

“Eh as in call me that and I’ll wax your legs in your sleep, or eh as in I like it.”

 

“Eh.”  Yuri grinned.  Otabek rolled them until Yuri was pinned beneath him.

 

“Well  _ Yura _ , just keep in mind that if I wake up with no leg hair, then  _ you _ might wake up with a permanent marker moustache the next morning.”

 

“I guess we’ll both just have to take our chances.”

 

Otabek laughed and kissed him.

 

***

 

True to his word, Otabek had called the university to pay for his next semester’s tuition, then set up the bank transfer into Yuri’s account.  He hadn’t batted an eye when Yuri came home with hundred dollar sneakers, and three days after that an automatic coffee maker arrived in the mail.

 

All in all, things were going even better than Yuri had hoped that they would.  Yes, Otabek fucked him sore every other day, but the perks of his new situation far outweighed the pitfalls. 

 

“Want to help me with a scene for the book?” Otabek asked him the following weekend.  Yuri looked up from the book he’d been reading and grinned.

 

“What kind of help?  Do I finally get to read it?”

 

“Not yet, I’m not all the way through it.  I need to choreograph a fight and I’m having trouble visualizing it.”

 

“Okay, how can I help?”

 

“Just come down to the gym with me and let me move you around a bit.”

 

“Sure.  Let me grab my shoes.”  Yuri stood and grabbed his sneakers, but stopped when Otabek shook his head.

 

“You shouldn’t need them.”

 

“Beka.”  Yuri looked at him a little condescendingly.  “I realize that you’re kind of a shut in and all, but shoes are a necessity when going outside.”

 

“Well then,  _ Yura _ ,” Otabek said, adopting the same tone, “it’s a good thing we aren’t going outside.”

 

“Wait, what?”

 

Otabek smirked.  “It’s downstairs.”

 

“You have a gym in the building and you didn’t tell me?  That’s fucking awesome!”  He pulled open the door and was half way down the hall before Otabek caught up.  “I mean, it’s a bit of a dick move not telling me till now, but still cool that it’s here.”

 

“I kind of forgot.”

 

“That you have a gym here?!”

 

“No,” Otabek laughed.  “That you don’t know about it.  I’ll give you a tour of the building when we’re done, if you want.”

 

“What, is there an arcade in the basement, too?”

 

“Uh, no.  But I could probably have one installed if you want.”

 

“I think whoever owns the building would have- wait…” Yuri trailed off, turning his narrowed eyes to Otabek.  “You own this whole goddamn building, don’t you.”

 

“...yes?”

 

“Seriously!  What else don’t I know?  Is there a garage full of cars somewhere?  A pool on the roof?”

 

“Well-”

 

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

 

“No cars.  But there is a pool on the roof.  It’s too cold to swim this time of year, though, even with the pool heated, so it never came up.”

 

“Okay, that’s it.  Full tour.  As soon as we finish this fight scene thing you need.”

 

“Alright, alright.”  Otabek led the way down to the gym feeling maybe just a little bit smug.  It wasn’t often that he got to show off much of anything, and he kind of liked the look of shock and awe on Yuri’s face.  So maybe there were some perks to being rich.

 

The gym was more of a big multipurpose room with a few pieces of equipment and a lot of open space for sparring.  On one wall hung replicas of all his main character’s weapons.  Of course, that was the first thing Yuri saw.

 

“Holy shit!  Is that-?” he picked a long, heavy dagger off the rack and inspected it.  As soon as he saw the inscription on the blade, he let out a slow breath.  “This is  _ the _ Dagger of Lies.  This is what Prince Frederick used to tear a hole to the underworld!”  He’d just barely gotten his breath back when he noticed the warhammer.  “And that’s the Secret Keeper’s hammer!  This is  _ so fucking cool _ !”

 

“I didn’t realize you were such a fan.”  Otabek shuffled his feet, hands stuffed in his pockets.

 

“I mean, it’s not like I’m obsessed or anything, but  _ everyone _ ’s read them.  And seeing all the stuff in real life is…”  Yuri trailed off when he saw Otabek’s smile.  “Don’t make fun of me, asshole.  It’s cool, okay?  You just don’t get it because you’re the one who wrote it.”

 

“I’m not making fun of you. It’s just… neat to see your reaction.  I don’t really get to see how people talk about it in person.  And the internet is a terrible place to look for validation.”

 

“Oh.  I guess you don’t ever do any book signings or to go events like that.  Which sucks, really.”

 

Otabek huffed.  “Can you imagine  _ me _ at some sort of public event?  I’d probably scare half the crowd away and offend the rest.  And if by chance anyone stuck around, I’d probably be so nervous that I’d puke on their shoes.”

 

“Point taken.  Well, if you ever did go, it would be filled with a lot of people even more geeked out than I am right now.  You’re a pretty big deal, Mr BK Gold.”

 

“Uh huh.  Let’s leave that fantasy world behind and focus on a different one.  Put the dagger back and grab that mace at the end.”  Otabek pointed to a long, slim morningstar wielded by the Giver in the books.  He grabbed a whip and a knife for himself, then positioned Yuri where his characters stood for the battle.

 

It was tedious work, with Otabek stopping to make notes every few minutes and both of them needing to be careful despite the weapons not being sharpened.  A few times they clashed and one of them fell back because the pose Otabek wanted them to stay in wasn’t practical and he would have to reposition the entire spar.  

 

Eventually they were both covered in black marker, which Otabek had been using to keep track of where their imaginary wounds were, and he let himself be dramatically knocked to the floor.  Yuri cheered.  “Do I finish you off now?”

 

“Nope.”  Otabek pushed to his feet and coiled up the whip.  “The god of Chaos owes me a favor and interferes at the last minute.”

 

“Aw, dammit.  Stupid god of Chaos.” 

 

“Wait till you read it. You’ll be glad you didn’t kill me by the time you get to this scene.”

 

“Fiiine.”  Yuri went up onto his toes to hook the mace back onto the wall.  Otabek’s eyes lingered on his ass.  When Yuri turned back around, he noticed the tent Otabek had suddenly pitched and glared at him.  “Oh no, no no no.  You promised me a tour.  Besides, I doubt you have lube down here.”

 

“Fuck.”  He glanced at the door, then back to Yuri longingly.  “I could run and grab some.  I could be back in less than two minutes.”

 

“You really can’t wait until  _ after _ you give me the tour?”

 

Otabek pulled Yuri close, cupping his ass and pressing kisses along his shoulder.  “I  _ want _ you.”  Yuri wavered.  He wasn’t visiting a friend’s house and having them show him their toys.  He wasn’t even just hanging out with his boyfriend.  His employer was being nice enough to show him around, and Yuri was acting like an ungrateful brat by not wanting to work.

 

“How about a blowjob for now and I’ll ride you when we get back upstairs?”

 

Otabek’s face brightened visibly and he nodded.  Yuri slid to his knees and pulled Otabek’s cock out.  He put Otabek’s hand in his hair, relaxed his jaw, and let his mind wander as Otabek thrust into his mouth.  It was easy to forget that they were employer and employee.  Hooker and customer.  That this was a paid arrangement.  They got along so well - Otabek’s stint while he was writing aside - and to be honest, Yuri  _ liked _ him.  Maybe not  _ liked _ him liked him, but Otabek was funny and sweet. His crippling anxiety and lack of vocal filter made him seem down to earth, more approachable, despite how ridiculously rich he was.  

 

The fact that they lived together meant that they saw all the best and worst of each other.  Yuri knew how Otabek took his coffee, knew his favorite TV shows, knew what foods gave him gas, what his allergies were, even what brand of toilet paper he liked.  And Otabek knew all those same things about Yuri. In a lot of ways, they were closer than a couple would be, because they hadn’t needed to go through that phase where they tried to only reveal the best of themselves.  Otabek didn’t try and make due without or have to feel guilty about asking for sex, and Yuri didn’t have to feel like a financial burden or that he wasn’t ‘contributing.’

 

Their situation  _ worked _ for them, but Yuri needed to not let himself get too complacent.  Beka was pretty fucking great, but if he wasn’t getting what he needed from Yuri, he could always fire him, and then Yuri would be back on the street.

 

Otabek pushed the tip of his cock into Yuri’s throat and came.  Despite the fact that it gagged him, Yuri was actually happy about it.  The come going right down his throat meant that there wouldn’t be a taste in his mouth until they got back upstairs for him to rinse. He swallowed, pulling the last of Otabek’s release from him, then tucked his cock back in his pants and stood.  “Okay now.  On to the tour.”  Otabek reeled a little, still breathing hard from his orgasm, but laughed and trotted after Yuri’s retreating form.

 

He showed Yuri the library on the same floor as the gym - complete with first editions of the DoL series - and then the home theater in the basement.  He explained that three of the floors were virtually empty, waiting until he had figured out what to do with them, then they went up past the level with Otabek’s loft and up to the roof.  It was cold, especially this late at night, but Yuri couldn’t contain his excitement about a full sized, heated pool just two floors above where he slept.

 

Just when Otabek was turning to go back inside, Yuri stripped off his clothes and dove into the pool. “What the-” Water splashed up as Yuri kicked away from the edge.  “Yura!  Jesus, do you have any idea what the temperature is?”

 

“Really fuckin cold?” he guessed, his limbs shaking as he paddled around.

 

“Yeah.  Really fuckin cold.  You’re going to get frostbite.  Or hypothermia.  Or-”

 

“Don’t be such a worry wart.  As long as my asshole doesn’t freeze shut you’ll be fine.”  He floated onto his back, keeping his body just below the surface of the water.

 

“Believe it or not, I’d actually like for  _ all _ of you to remain unfrozen, not just the parts I can fuck.”

 

“Aw, Beka, you  _ do _ care.”

 

Otabek mock glared at him.  “Shut up and get out of there.  At the very least you’re going to catch a cold, and I’ll feel bad having you give me blow jobs when you’re all snuffly.”  Yuri laughed and finally hefted himself out of the water.  He shook his head like a dog, spraying Otabek’s shirt.  “Hey!”

 

“What, don’t wanna get wet?”  Yuri’s eyes gleamed mischievously.

 

“Oh no,” Otabek declared.  “Don’t you dare.”

 

“Don’t I d-dare what?”  Yuri’s teeth started to chatter and he stalked towards Otabek, who had begun backing away.  Just when Yuri got in arm’s reach, Otabek turned and dashed through the door.  Yuri followed with a whoop of laughter, stark naked and dripping water. He chased Otabek all the way down the hall to the elevator, then cornered him and leapt into his arms.

 

He immediately soaked Otabek’s t shirt, then pressed his blue lips to Otabek’s neck, laughing while he yelped.


	10. Chapter 10

It was another week before Otabek finished his first edit of the novel and was willing to let Yuri read it.  After stressing to him the importance of not letting even a part of it be seen by anyone else, he sent the document to Yuri, who immediately opened it on his phone and began reading.

 

Two chapters in, Yuri was dangerously hooked.  The book was darker than the  _ Dagger of Lies _ series, with brutal fight scenes, unspeakable torture, and explicit sex.  The main character was a demon Prince Frederick had banished at the end of the last book in the series, and he was willing to use any means to exact his revenge on the other demons that had betrayed him.

 

Yuri stayed up late far too many nights getting drawn deeper and deeper into the plot until finally he realized that the demon wasn’t the bad guy at all, but a misunderstood anti-hero.  The book ended ambiguously, leaving Yuri both satisfied and eager for more.

 

He shook Otabek awake at three in the morning, jittering with excitement and hardly able to believe his luck that not only was he the  _ very first _ person to read the book, but also that he could  _ talk to the author _ about it in person.

 

“Beka!  Beka!”

 

“Wha?”  Otabek sat up abruptly and looked around.  “What’s wrong?”

 

“I finished it!  Holy shit!  So is this going to be a new series?  Is Deacon ever going to find Lex?  And why does the demon king want him dead?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“The book!  What happens next?”

 

Otabek collapsed back onto the bed.  “You woke me up to ask what happens with the  _ book _ ?”

 

“Of course!  You left it so open ended!  I need to know!”

 

“You and me both, Yura.  I mean-” he broke off in a yawn and stretched, then settled in more comfortably.  “I do know the history behind it, but I don’t know what’s gonna happen yet.  That depends on what they do.  Which will be totally dependent on whether or not I get another year long stretch of goddamn writer’s block.”

 

“But… but you  _ do _ know why the demon king wants him dead?”

 

Otabek put the pillow over his face and groaned.  “Yes.  But it’ll spoil the potential ending of the potential series if I tell you.”

 

“I don’t care.  Tell me.”

 

Otabek opened his mouth, but Yuri covered it.  “Wait, don’t.  No, no, do tell me.  I need to know.”  He lifted his hand, then wavered when Otabek went to speak again.  “No, don’t.  Fuck, I don’t know… How long would I potentially have to wait for the second book?  Barring writer’s block, that is.”

 

“You do realize that would mean the return of Zombie Beka and the very inconsiderate sex.”

 

“I don’t fuckin care!  I’ll sit under that desk and blow you all  _ week _ to get the next book here.”

 

Otabek laughed.  “You say that now.  Wait until it happens to fall on the night of an art opening that you want to go to, or our anniversary, or when your parents are in town.  Then you’ll be fucking pissed.”

 

Yuri stilled, his smile frozen on his face and then slowly starting to fade.  “What?”  Otabek quickly thought back over what he’d just said, trying to figure out what offensive thing he’d said now, then paled.  “Oh,” he whispered.  Yuri pushed his lips back into a smile, which looked only a little forced.

 

“Well since my parents are dead, I think them coming to town is unlikely.”  He made no mention whatsoever about the anniversary comment, which Otabek was immeasurably grateful for.  “But if  _ your _ parents come to town, I don’t want to be stuck-”

 

“Mine are dead, too.”  

 

“Oh.”  Yuri mimicked Otabek’s soft exclamation from earlier.  “Well, orphan club, then!  We can swap stories about shitty foster homes.”

 

“I, uh, I had just turned eighteen when they died.  I never had to go anywhere.”

 

“That’s good, then.  I mean, still sucks and all, but at least you were sort of an adult.”  

 

Otabek shrugged.  “I  _ should _ have been.  But I was pretty sheltered as a kid.  I didn’t have my own bank account, didn’t know how to buy groceries, I didn’t even know how to drive - not that I really wanted to after that.  I was just… lost.”  He looked over at Yuri, then flushed, a little ashamed.  “Not that it was anything like losing them young.  I was really lucky that I got as much time with them as I did.  It would have been way worse to lose my parents and my home all in one day.”

 

“I don’t think it’s better or worse.  Sounds like you were just as fucked over by it as I was.  Yeah I got jerked around in the system, but at least all that prepared me for being on my own.  There’s no good way to become an orphan.”

 

“Yeah, that’s probably true.”

 

“And on that super fuckin morbid note, I should probably get at least a few hours of sleep before my first class in the morning.”  Yuri let himself be tucked into Otabek’s side.  He snuggled in, closing his eyes and trying not to think about Otabek at a naive eighteen suddenly finding himself alone in the world.  And he  _ absolutely _ pushed from his mind that Otabek had worried about missing their anniversary.  Because they  _ weren’t _ a couple, and the thought of them being one didn’t - it didn’t, it  _ didn’t _ \- make his heart clench.

 

***

 

Finals crept up on Yuri all too soon.  He’d been keeping up with his projects and assignments, despite the frequency of Otabek’s needs, and still, he felt totally overwhelmed when he realized that there was less than two weeks until he had to take his tests.

 

He spent every free moment studying, more worried than ever that he might fail.  Normally he was fairly confident in his own abilities, but there was so much riding on his college classes.  Yes, he had a good set up for the moment, but graduating with a degree in architecture was the only thing that would truly secure his future.  The fear that he might fuck that up, that he might fall back into the life of poverty and desperation that he’d worked so hard to leave behind, was nearly blinding.

 

It seemed that Otabek noticed Yuri’s distraction, because the more Yuri withdrew, the more Otabek clung to him.  Yuri had already noticed the pattern of his need for physical contact - if not a pattern in his sex drive; Yuri was increasingly convinced there was no rhyme or reason to it.  If Otabek said a particularly bald statement or something that could be considered rude, he needed to hold Yuri.  If he was rough in fucking him, or did it often enough that Yuri was especially sore, Otabek would trace his fingers over Yuri’s skin for hours.  Any hint that Yuri might be inclined to leave him had Otabek desperate to touch him.  The term abandonment issues didn’t even begin to cover it.

 

The problem was that Yuri needed space to work and study, but the more he pulled away, the more Otabek would want to hold him for hours on end.  Hours Yuri didn’t have to spare.  And the worst part was that Yuri didn’t know how to juggle his two responsibilities.  On the one hand, graduating was his top priority, and he wasn’t willing to let anything interfere with that.  But on the other, Otabek was paying for Yuri’s classes.  He bought Yuri’s books, his school supplies, everything.  The repayment he asked for that generosity was access to Yuri at any time.  He was already careful about not interfering with the time Yuri needed to complete his homework.  Pushing him away for longer than that seemed as though he was just using Otabek.

 

He did want to keep Otabek happy.  Not just because he genuinely liked Otabek, but also because despite how much he was struggling to balance his time, it would be so much worse if he was still working the street.  He remembered times during finals in previous years that he’d gone without food for far longer than he should because he’d sacrificed time he should have been working to spend studying.  Now, he was always well fed and didn’t have to worry about being evicted, or having to try and decide whether to use his last few dollars on more condoms so that he could make money, or a bite of food so that he didn’t pass out from hunger.

 

So instead of telling Otabek that he needed more time to study, or asking him to give him a break until after finals, Yuri bottled up the impatience.  He ignored the irritation every time Otabek interrupted his studying to have sex, bit back the waspish comments when his reading was pushed to later so that they could cuddle.

 

Yuri took to riding Otabek whenever possible because it was the fastest way to get him off.  Blowjobs worked, too, but only so often and then Otabek would want to be inside him again.  Riding, Yuri could set the pace.  He could go fast and hard until Otabek would lose all control beneath him.  The downfall to that was he got sore far more quickly.  Otabek liked watching Yuri work through the small bites of discomfort, liked seeing him get himself of with just a hint of a burn to make the pleasure more intense.  Yuri normally didn’t complain about that.  The sting of a rushed stretch had begun to arouse him, and as long as Otabek finished what he started, Yuri actually  _ liked _ learning to take a whisper of pain with his pleasure.

 

Sometimes, if the soreness wasn’t obvious, Otabek didn’t try and get Yuri to orgasm.  He let Yuri ride him to completion and then get back to his books.  So Yuri began to hide it if he was sore from their previous encounters.  Yeah, it made sitting in class a little uncomfortable, but the trade off was extra studying time while still keeping Otabek satisfied, so he figured it was worth it.

 

He almost managed to pull it off.  Three days before his finals began, he snapped at Otabek for trying to hold him.  He didn’t want to be held.  He wanted to read his fucking book in peace and not have to-

 

The look of  _ betrayal _ on Otabek’s face halted Yuri’s tirade.  Shit.  Oh shit.  He opened his mouth to apologize, to take it back, but Otabek walked away before he could get the words out.  They didn’t speak the rest of the evening.  Otabek joined him in bed that night, but he seemed so cold and distant, even when he wrapped Yuri in his arms, that Yuri didn’t know how to reach him.

 

The next day he pounced on Yuri as soon as he dotted the last i on his homework assignment.  He spend the entire afternoon holding Yuri and having sex with him.  Even Yuri’s trick of riding him quickly didn’t buy him free time to study, because Otabek didn’t let him go after they were done, and with how badly things had gone the day before, Yuri didn’t want to risk asking to be let go.

 

The day before his finals, Yuri was exhausted, physically and mentally, and so fucking sore he was sure his eyes crossed every time he sat down.  He stayed an hour longer than normal at the library studying because he guessed that he wouldn’t get much done at home.

 

“Do you have any homework?” Otabek asked as soon as he walked in the door.  Yuri shook his head.  He should have said that this homework was  _ supposed _ to be studying, but he could still see the echo of hurt on Otabek’s face.  It lessened when Yuri went into his arms.  They watched a movie on the couch together, ate dinner still cuddled up, and just when they were finishing, Yuri felt a telltale bulge beneath him.  

 

Otabek’s breathing had grown shallow and his pupils dilated.  He slid his hand into Yuri’s pants and touched him, brushing his fingers along Yuri’s cock at first and then sliding them further back.  There was no chance of Yuri hiding his soreness.  He squirmed, fighting to hold back the extent of it from his expression.

 

“Ssh, I’ve go you,” Otabek murmured to him soothingly.  He lifted Yuri and carried him to the bedroom, then urged him onto his back.  Yuri thought about closing his legs.  He thought about telling Otabek he was too sore for sex.  He’d done it before, and he knew Otabek wouldn’t push him if he said no.  Otabek liked to take him to the edge, liked to walk the line with him between pleasure and pain, but he’d  _ never _ caused Yuri any real harm.

 

All it would take was one word of protest.  Yuri thought about all the customers he’d had who hadn’t cared if they hurt him while they fucked him.  He thought about how it felt to be truly hungry.  He thought about how any whore working Garden Square would sell their soul to take his place.  He thought about the look of hurt on Otabek’s face when Yuri had snapped at him, and how coldly distant he’d been after.

 

He opened his legs and invited Otabek into the cradle of his thighs.

 

Otabek kissed him hard, the stress of the last two weeks a sharp taste on his tongue.  He slicked his fingers and pressed them into Yuri, turning the kiss softer and gentler when Yuri hissed at the intrusion.  “Relax, sweetheart.  That’s it, open up for me.”  The burn intensified as Otabek added another finger.  Yuri tucked his face against Otabek’s shoulder and clung to him tightly.  Otabek hummed in approval, mistaking Yuri’s need to hide for eagerness.

 

A moment later, the fingers were withdrawn and the head of Otabek’s cock took their place.  Otabek pushed forward slowly, and the raw skin beneath him screamed in protest.  Yuri’s breath hitched.  He gritted his teeth against the pain and tried to relax.  Otabek pulled back and thrust forward.  Yuri set his jaw and dug his nails into the palms of his hands.  Another thrust.  He felt moisture gathering behind his eyelids but he kept his eyes screwed tightly shut.

 

“Touch yourself, Yura.”

 

_ No. _  He shouted the protest in his head, but outwardly, his hand moved obediently to his cock as Otabek leaned up to give him room.  There was no way he was even going to be able to get hard, let alone come.  It hurt too much, he was too focused on trying to hide the pain-  “I want to see you come on my cock, kitten.”

 

Otabek had said those words to him before.  They’d been sensual, evocative, erotic.  They’d turned him on.  Now they made him shudder.  He stroked himself quickly, hiding how limp he was beneath his fist.  “Come for me,” Otabek urged.

 

“I- I can’t-”

 

“Yes you can.  You’re doing so well Yura.  Come for me.”

 

“I  _ can’t _ !”  Yuri’s eyes flew open and the tears he’d been holding back streamed down his temples.  “It _hurts_ -” the word was caught on a sob that shook his chest.  Otabek froze.  He looked panicked.  Utterly terrified.  With an unintelligible garble, he pulled out and sat back on his heels.  One pale pink streak of blood ran the length of his cock.  Otabek saw it and his face went white.  He stumbled off the bed, had time to take one unsteady breath, then fell to his knees and vomited on the floor.

 

Yuri watched him run out of the room through wet eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...don't hate me.


	11. Chapter 11

Yuri should have followed Otabek out of the room.  But there were a lot of things he should have done that night, and so far he hadn’t done a single fucking one of them.  Instead, he ran a bath and soaked in it.  He wallowed in his own pain, in his stupid decisions, in just how spectacularly he’d fucked up.

 

He shouldn’t have pushed himself so far.  It was too much.  He was only human, he was  _ breakable _ , and despite how strong he was, even he had his limits.

 

He’d fucked up, and it had hurt, but that wasn’t his biggest problem.  No, the biggest problem was outside the bedroom, likely berating himself to hell and back again.  He’d made Otabek an unwitting participant in his poor decisions.  He  _ knew _ Otabek didn’t want to hurt him.  He had seen over and over again how much it mattered to Otabek to take care of him, how much he pampered Yuri and coddled him if he thought they’d gone even a little too far.

 

Yuri had been too busy worrying about his job security, about trying to make sure Otabek didn’t have any reason to consider replacing him, that he hadn’t stopped to think how it would make Otabek feel to be a part of this.  He’d just thought of his own fears, decided what Otabek didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him, and let things get out of hand. Now, Otabek  _ did _ know.  And if the puke on the bedroom floor was any indication, it had hurt him.  It had hurt him a lot.

 

Letting his head sink under the water, Yuri wondered how things had gotten so out of hand.  He was confused and mad at himself.  He’d let himself get so wrapped up in his worries that he’d chosen to have painful sex instead of being honest with his partner.  His mind was seriously fucked up at the moment.  He suddenly didn’t trust any of his decisions.  He was letting desperation make his choices, and there was no reason for that.  Otabek had never threatened to replace him.  He’d never even insinuated that there would be any kind of consequences to Yuri turning him down.  So why had he been so desperate to keep Otabek satisfied that he’d forced himself to keep going when he couldn’t?

 

Was it the stress of finals?  Or that now that he’d had a taste of what it was like to live this way he was afraid of giving it up?  Was it that he’d somewhere along the line stopped thinking of himself as a person whose feelings and opinions mattered instead of just an employee trying to keep up?

 

He came up gasping for air, no more sure of himself than he had been when he’d let himself sink under the water.  The only thing that he  _ could _ be sure of was that something needed to change.  He couldn’t keep going like this when his mindset had taken such an unhealthy turn.  It wasn’t fair to him and it wasn’t fair to Otabek.

 

Tired of running away from his problems, Yuri rose and dried off.  It was time to face Otabek.  He’d apologize.  He’d explain that the stress of finals had gotten to him, that he’d hidden things that he shouldn’t have.  He’d ask for the chance to make them right.  He’d stress that what had happened wasn’t Otabek’s fault.

 

He dressed in a pair of Otabek’s sweat pants and an old t shirt, then cautiously opened the bedroom door.  There was no way of knowing for sure what mood Otabek would be in.  He could be furious with Yuri for hiding his pain, or he could be a babbling mess begging that Yuri wouldn’t leave.  Hell, he could be throwing Yuri’s shit in the hall and ready to say that he never wanted to see Yuri again.

 

He found Otabek leaning against the front door with his knees pulled up to his chest and both hands in his hair.  His eyes were dry, but red as though he’d shed tears earlier.  When he saw Yuri, he tried to stand, stumbled back against the door, then righted himself.  He took a single step towards Yuri, hand held out, then faltered.  Yuri closed the distance between them instead. He threw himself into Otabek’s arms and clung to him.

 

Otabek’s whole body trembled and he wrapped Yuri up in a tight embrace.  One of his hands rose up to cradle the back of Yuri’s head.  “I’m sorry,” he whispered brokenly.  “I’m so sorry.  Please don’t leave.”  Yuri tried to pull back, but Otabek held him closer.  “I’ll do better.  I’ll  _ be _ better.  Please-”

 

“Beka-”  Yuri planted his hands against Otabek’s chest and forced enough room between them that he could see Otabek’s face.  “You don’t have to apologize to me.   _ I _ should be apologizing to  _ you _ .  It was stupid and selfish of me not to say something.  I should have told you that I couldn’t.  You would have stopped-”

 

“I swear to  _ god _ I would have stopped, Yura.  I didn’t want to-”

 

“I know.  I know you don’t want to hurt me.  It was  _ my _ fault.  I just… I just let this get all fucked up in my head.  I’ve been so goddamn worried about my finals that I’ve been pushing you away but I thought that if I let things go too far you’d fire me and I’m already so fucking lucky to have this that I just didn’t-”

 

“You thought I’d kick you out if you told me no?”  Otabek looked horrified.

 

“Not- not normally.  But I’ve been taking so much time to study and after that fight the other day I didn’t want to take the chance that-”

 

“ _ Yura _ …  you’re not a- a sex slave.  I know I need a lot from you and that I don’t always react the best to rejection, but you can  _ always _ tell me no.”

 

“I  _ know _ that.  I was just being stupid and getting in my own head with this shit.  I should have talked to you about it.  I should have told you how worried I was about these finals.  I know I act cocky and try to come off as tough shit so it’s hard to see, which means that it’s up to me to be honest with you about it.”  Yuri swiped at his nose in what he was sure was an unflattering display.  “You’re not an asshole.  We probably could have come up with some kind of arrangement until after the finals-”

 

“We wouldn’t even have needed an  _ arrangement _ .  I know how important your classes are to you.  It was so stupid of me not to see it.  I was just  _ ignoring _ it because it was easier.  I would have- I  _ should _ have told you to take these last few weeks off.  I’ve had you working all the time without any real kind of break for too long.  And the fact that I’ve created a situation where you felt like you couldn’t say no without risking-”

 

“That was  _ my _ mistake, Beka, not yours.”

 

“You’re the one who got hurt here.  You’re the one who felt- trapped-” his voice caught and broke.

 

“I’d be an idiot if I didn’t see how much this hurt you, too.  For god’s sake you puked on the floor.  I thought you were gonna pass out in it.  This isn’t what you wanted.”

 

Otabek struggled to collect himself, taking slow, steady breaths all the while running his hands over Yuri as if to assure himself he was really still there.  “Whether it’s what I intended or not, that’s what happened.  That kind of atmosphere… it’s toxic.  We can’t keep going like that - either of us.”

 

“Then what do we do?”  Yuri’s voice was small.  Had he fucked this up beyond repair?

 

“I think we need… space.  We need to be apart long enough to  _ think _ .  When you’re here and you’re mine to touch and hold all I can think about is having more.  I need to clear my head.  We’ve got to redraw our lines in ways that we are  _ both _ comfortable with.”  Otabek fisted his hand in Yuri’s hair, held him close, breathed him in, then set him carefully away.  “You should sleep in the spare room for a while.  At least until your finals are over and you’re more comfortable.  You’re off duty until we reestablish our boundaries.  You’ll still get paid the same, none of that will change.  Just-  _ please _ \- just don’t leave.”

 

“I won’t.  I promise.  I’m not going anywhere.”  Yuri wanted to hug him, but held back. It had been hard enough for Otabek to let him go the first time.  Yuri didn’t want to make him do it a second time.  “I’ll take my finals and then we’ll fix this.”

 

“Thank you,” Otabek breathed.  He  _ shook _ with the need to reach out, to touch, to hold, but kept himself back.  “Get some sleep,” he urged.  “I’ll have breakfast for you in the morning.”

 

Yuri smiled a little.  “Thanks, Beka.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, all! Just wanted to say feel free to come say hi on Tumblr! I'm ArabellaFaith. I post a bit of everything.


	12. Chapter 12

It felt strange, sleeping without Otabek after so long of being a living, breathing, teddy bear for the man.  Yuri hadn’t thought he’d be able to fall asleep at first, but either from the stress of the night or his worry over finals, he did fall asleep.

 

He fell asleep the next night, too, on new sheets the same kind as on Otabek’s bed.  On the nightstand he had folded up the note he’d found when he got home,  _ no unicorns were harmed in the making of these sheets _ .

 

Otabek made him breakfast in the mornings, pressed a chaste kiss to his forehead while wishing him good luck on his exams, and then Yuri wouldn’t see him until late in the evening when his eyes were blurring from studying too long for the next day’s exams and he needed a break before his head exploded.  Sometimes Otabek was in his office, sometimes he closed himself in the bedroom.  A few times Yuri found him on the couch, staring unseeing at the TV.  Those times, Yuri sat at the other end of the couch.  He tried to watch what was on, he truly did.  But in the end, all he could pay attention to was the look of naked longing on Otabek’s face and the way his hand opened and closed on the cushion between them.  Yuri eventually slid his hand over it, lacing their fingers together.  What he saw in Otabek’s eyes once he looked back up made him shiver.  Longing still, yes, but also joy, lust, relief, gratitude, possessiveness, and something so intense Yuri didn’t dare try to name it.

 

Yuri leaned closer without even realizing he’d moved.  In a flash, Otabek was up and off the couch.  He closed himself in the bedroom and did not come back out.

 

The following day, Yuri came home early from school.  His test had been easier than he’d expected, and he’d practically flown through it.  Instead of hearing Otabek moving pots and pans in the kitchen, or clacking away on his keyboard in the office, Yuri heard low, pained moans from the bedroom.

 

He was at the door in two quick steps, then paused.  What if those moans were...something else?  He was sure Otabek had gone back to whatever method he’d had of sating his urges before hiring Yuri, and he didn’t want to burst in on a private moment.

 

Instead of rushing inside, Yuri cracked the door open silently and looked.  Otabek was twisted up on the bed, rutting furiously into a silicon toy, chasing release.  The look on his face was more desperation than pleasure.  Either sweat or tears dripped down his temples.  He moaned again, low and broken, then curled in on himself and released.  Yuri tried to tear his eyes away.  He didn’t want to see this.  Not only was it  _ intensely _ private, but it almost  _ hurt _ to watch.  It wasn’t until Otabek realized he was still hard and stifled a sob that Yuri closed the door again and forced himself away.

 

Otabek didn’t just have a high sex drive.  What he’d just seen, the way Otabek was in excruciating, desperate need of release, was not a healthy fluke of libido.  Yuri’s view of him, of their situation, shifted.  Otabek wasn’t just insatiable.  He  _ needed _ it the way other people needed food.  And the man Yuri had seen in there had been  _ starving _ \- stuffing himself with crusts of bread hoping it would make the hunger pains go away for  _ just a little while _ .

 

Yuri wanted to go in and help him. He wanted to tear that useless toy out of Otabek’s hand and slide onto his length, kissing him and riding him until he was sated.  He wanted them to sit down, after, and have a discussion about what was really wrong with Otabek and what they could do about it.  A practical, realistic plan that would fit both their needs.

 

But there was still one more day of test, and Yuri forced himself to turn away.  He closed himself in his room and focused on drafting boards and engineering beams and structural sustainability.  He made himself cold and numb to Otabek’s pain.  Just for one more day.

 

***

 

Yuri went home the next night with a sense of immense relief and a new purpose.  His exams were over.  He was on winter break and wouldn’t have any more classes until after the new year.  Now, he could turn his attention to Otabek.

 

He flew through the door and startled Otabek, who’d been waiting on the couch.  Yuri marched right past him, into the bedroom, and emerged a moment later with the lube in his hands.  Wordlessly, he straddled Otabek’s lap and kissed him.  Otabek’s arms went around him automatically, his mouth slack for a single moment, and then he was clinging to Yuri like a man possessed.  When they broke apart for air, Yuri stripped off his shirt and then Otabek’s.

 

“We should-” Whatever gentlemanly and responsible protest Otabek had been about to make was bitten off as Yuri shoved their pants out of the way, drizzled lube on his fingers, and began working himself open.  Otabek’s eyes blazed with lust, hands shaking with need.  It was only a moment later before he pressed Yuri down onto the couch and added his fingers alongside Yuri’s.

 

Yuri forced himself to wait until he was sure he was ready before moving his hand away and wrapping his legs around Otabek’s waist.  He sincerely didn’t want to risk rushing it and being too sore to go again after they’d talked.  Otabek had waited long enough already.  But when the head of Otabek’s cock slid into him, there was no pain.  He could see the effort of restraint etching lines into Otabek’s face, so he pulled him down and whispered, “fuck me hard.”

 

Otabek let out one shuddering breath and then began pounding into Yuri.  It was fast and hard and breathtaking and Yuri was almost surprised at how fucking hot it was.  Maybe he’d gotten used to getting off more in the time they’d been together.  Maybe his body was trained to react to Otabek like a Pavlovian fucking dog.  Or maybe this much need, this much desperation, all for  _ him _ was just a turn on he couldn’t stifle.  Either way, his cock was rock hard where it was trapped between them.  For the first time in his life, Yuri thought he was going to come without a hand on his cock, just the friction of their bellies and Otabek’s relentless assault on his prostate enough to send him sailing into bliss.

 

Just when he felt himself get close, Otabek came with a guttural moan.  His cock pulsed and twitched inside Yuri, enough to tease him, but not enough to deliver release.  It was okay, Yuri tried to tell himself.  This had been about Otabek.  There would be plenty of time later-

 

Otabek let his weight fall forward, the extra pressure making Yuri’s sensitive and aching cock twitch with want.  He pulled back, half dazed, and saw Yuri’s erection. Yuri opened his mouth to say something, to wave it away, but Otabek opened his mouth first.  In a flash, he shifted down on the couch and slid Yuri’s cock between his lips.

 

Yuri barely had time to appreciate the sinful feel of Otabek’s tongue circling him, the wet heat of his mouth as he sucked, the spine tinglingly erotic sight of Otabek’s head between his legs, and then he went off like a shot, spilling into Otabek’s mouth and gasping when Otabek swallowed around him.

 

“I should have done  _ that _ weeks ago,” Otabek drawled, looking as sated as a cat that’d gotten into the cream.  Yuri found himself smiling.

 

“I’m sure there’s a witty comeback to that, but I’m too out of it to think what it is.”  He shifted on the couch so Otabek could crawl up next to him.  Otabek ran his hands over Yuri’s skin, pressed kisses to his face, hummed in contentment as their legs twined together.

 

“I missed you.”

 

Yuri was shocked for a moment, then let himself relax.  So their situation was unusual.  Who cared?  “I missed you too,” he admitted.  Otabek snuggled him close, then pulled back far enough to see Yuri’s face.

 

“How did your exams go?”

 

“Good, I think.  I mean, I was plenty prepared for them, and a few of them even seemed easy, so either they actually  _ were _ easy, or I did so badly that I don’t even realize it.”

 

“I’m sure that’s not the case.  You’re smart and you work hard.  You probably aced them all.”

 

“Here’s hoping.  And, uh, thanks.  For giving me time off, or whatever.”

 

“Your classes come first, I understand that.  We should- talk.  About how we can keep… what happened before from happening again.  I don’t want you to feel like you  _ have _ to say yes or I’m going to kick you out.”

 

“I don’t.  Really.  I’ve said no before and it was fine.  This was just… so much shit all at once and I let it get all twisted in my head.  It was a stupid thing to do.  I should have told you from the beginning that I needed some time off to study for finals.  I think that sometimes I just…  I’m a lot stronger than most people think, you know?  Like, they hear the orphan bit and immediately pity me, or see me turning tricks and think I must have been forced into it against my will.  I’m not.  I’m not scarred, I’m not a victim.  I’m a university honors student a year and a half away from a degree and a real career.  I’m  _ strong _ .  I know I’m smart, I know my own self worth.  But I spend so much time proving that I can handle things that I don’t really know how to admit it when I can’t.  I’ll learn, though.  I won’t do that to either of us again.”

 

“You amaze me, you know that?”  Otabek gently brushed the hair out of Yuri’s eyes.  “You have every right to be a mess.  You could be a product of your environment and no one would blame you.  Instead you’re so far above it that I’m just… in  _ awe _ of you.  But you don’t have to be so strong and independent all the time.  Let me help you.  I’ve got the money to spare.  I know I ask a lot of you, but trust me when I say I’m not going to want us to end this if you need a night off or a week off or a break.  I’ve got… issues- with people leaving-”

 

Yuri scoffed lightly.  “You’re the poster boy for abandonment issues, Beka.”

 

“Exactly.  I don’t want you to go.  So I’m more than willing to do whatever we need to make this work.  Just tell me what you need.”

 

“Well hearing that certainly helps with job security,” Yuri joked.  Otabek smiled weakly at him.  “Sorry, shitty attempt at humor.  But yeah, alright.  Let’s talk about what we  _ both  _ need.  I think maybe, first thing, you should tell me about what’s going on with you.  This isn’t just a high sex drive and social anxiety.  There’s something… more.”

 

Otabek stilled, looking away as if he was struggling with himself, then he let out a slow breath.  “I, uh, I have some brain damage,” he finally admitted.  “Not like- not dangerous or even especially serious, but I was in a car accident, and I had - traumatic brain injury is the term for it.  It left me with damage to my frontal lobe.”

 

“The same car accident that-”

 

“No, not the one that killed my parents.  This didn’t happen till two years ago.  There’s no- no fix for it.  There’s pills that are supposed to help, but they aren’t… they’re not for me.  I have impulse control issues that show up mainly when I’m talking to people and I just blurt out whatever I’m thinking, and sometimes I don’t even realize it’s rude.  And I have obsessive tendencies, like when I write… it just gets in my head and I can barely function until it’s out. And then my sex drive just- it feels like a separate entity sometimes.  It’s like this beast living inside me that needs to be fed or I can’t even think straight.  I don’t just  _ want _ sex, or enjoy it - I mean, I do enjoy it, I do, but I  _ need _ it.  I can’t control that.”

 

“Does this… the brain stuff- does it affect your personality at all?  I mean, is this who you were before the accident?”

 

“There’s a lot I can blame on the TBI but who I am isn’t one of them.  A lot of people with brain injuries get aggressive or outright violent and apparently it’s some sort of miracle that I’m not, but the hypersexuality and compulsion issues are really the main problems that came with it.  The thing is, combined with the anxiety issues that I already had, they just… snowballed into  _ this _ .  It’s not like I can just go up to someone in a coffee shop that I find attractive and ask them on a date and oh by the way, I want to fuck you three or four times a day.  And worse, because I don’t have any goddamn filter, that’s  _ exactly _ what I’d say.  A month after the accident, I told my physical therapist that I wanted to fuck his face.  My ex was standing right there.  It was mortifying.  And while they were both patient and understanding about it, I can’t start every conversation with, ‘hey, I might say something wildly inappropriate or cruel, but it’s not my fault so just ignore it.’”

 

“Well you  _ could _ .”

 

“Maybe if I’d been an outgoing, laid back, extrovert  _ before _ the accident I’d have had a shot at that.  As it is, there’s no way in hell. I could barely admit all this to  _ you _ and not only have we been having sex months, but I’m also  _ paying _ you to be here.”

 

“Okay, okay, I can see the problem with that.  But I’m glad you finally did tell me.  I mean, now I know what we’re dealing with, right? And it explains a whole hell of a lot.”

 

“I know this hasn’t been easy for you.”

 

“Cut yourself some slack.  With the exception of last week, this really  _ has _ been pretty damn easy on me.  I kinda like your lack of filter.  Honestly, I’m like that a lot myself, and I don’t even have any excuse except that I don’t like bullshit.  And yeah, the zombie thing while you were writing was a little weird, but you wrote an entire fuckin’ novel.  A week of that was totally worth getting to read that book.”  He smiled crookedly, then grew more serious.  “As for the sex… I mean, it’s been work, yeah, but trust me, being here at your beck and call is still a lot easier than working the corner at Garden Square.  My frequency of having actual sex has gone up, sure, but I’m getting way more out of this, it’s a fuckton safer, and I’m not just trying to blow smoke up your ass when I say that sex with you is a lot more fun than with any of the customers I picked up before.  Hell, I hadn’t been blown in longer than I want to fuckin remember before just now.”

 

“I really should have done that sooner.”

 

“It’s not like I  _ expect _ it.  I’m just saying that it was a really goddamn nice perk.  The point is, I’m not being exploited here.  This is a great setup, and once we set some new boundaries for unconventional circumstances like finals or getting sick or something, I’m happy to have us get back to it.”

 

“Okay.”  Otabek smiled again, and this time it was genuine.  “So let’s make some new guidelines.  And I want them to be guidelines and not rules because I don’t think any of this is ever really black and white.”

 

“That’s fair.”

 

“I think we should just give a blanket pass for illness.  I can’t guarantee that I won’t still try to grope you in bed if you’ve got a cold, but if you’re really sick then you’re off duty until you’re better.  That’s how it would be at an office.”

 

“Okay, agreed.  And if you want sex while  _ you’re _ sick, I reserve the right to judge for myself whether you’re actually too sick to go at it.”

 

“Fine by me.  Now with school-”

 

“Because I’ve learned my own limits here recently, I think if this is still going on by the end of next semester and onward, I need to just have all of finals week off, and be down to at  _ least _ part time the week before it.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“But, maybe we could find ways to work studying into sex and cuddling?  Like, you could quiz me while you’re holding me, or I could read my textbooks while you’re railing me from behind or something.”

 

“Something like that,” Otabek agreed with a laugh.  “I think if we just talk to each other about what we need, then we can make it work.”

 

“And… and if we’re not fucking for whatever reason and it gets bad for you, then we should talk about that, too.  I saw-”  Yuri licked his lips and felt the tips of his ears get hot.  “The other day, I saw you trying to… make due, on your own.  It looked  _ excruciating _ .  I really don’t want you to have to get like that again if there’s a way we can work around it or compromise or something.”

 

“I…”  Otabek’s face grew mottled with embarrassment, but he nodded.  “Yeah.  Okay.  Compromise, if we can.”  His eyes softened and he kissed Yuri’s forehead.  “Anything else we need to clear up, then?”

 

“One more thing.  I just think you’d be more… secure, if I admitted how much I like it here.  I meant it when I said this is a great job for me.  But it’s more than just that.  I mean, living here is amazing.  You know how I feel about your sheets and the showers.  And when you finally get off your ass and cook, it’s like living with a  _ chef _ .  This really, really is great.  Plus…” Yuri felt like a complete and total sap.  He didn’t like talking about this shit.  But thinking about how happy it would make Otabek had him pushing through anyways.  “Plus, I, uh, like you.  I mean, we get along and you’re a good guy, not to mention that you’re hot as fuck.  So, yeah.  There’s that.  The point is, I’m not just going to leave.  I  _ want _ to be here.  With you.”

 

Otabek looked stunned.  His cheeks flushed bright pink and then a smile slowly unfurled across his face.  “Don’t let that go to your head,” Yuri warned him quickly.

 

“I won’t,” Otabek assured him.  “I like you, too, you know.”

 

Yuri waved that away.  “That’s just because I put out whenever you want.”

 

“Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t  _ hurt _ .  But there’s also the fact that you don’t get offended when I say something inappropriate, and you make me push my boundaries without making me too uncomfortable, plus you’ve got great taste in TV and music.  The fact that you’re smart and sexy don’t hurt either.”

 

Yuri felt his face warming and realized he must be as red as Otabek had been a moment before.  “Shut up and kiss me,” he commanded.  Otabek happily obliged.


	13. Chapter 13

Yuri hadn’t realized how confining the apartment could feel until he started spending twenty four hours a day in it.  Before, he’d been going to school during the day, stopping at the library or grocery store or the mall after before coming home.  He’d never really considered himself a social person and didn’t have friends, but apparently what little human interaction he’d been getting was pretty fucking important because half a week into his winter break, he was going stir crazy.

 

He’d already risked freezing his balls off to take a swim on the roof, oogled the weapons in the gym, and watched three movies in the theater.  He’d even slunk around on the empty floors, envisioning what they could be developed into one day.  If not for the library, Yuri would have been literally climbing the walls, but even that was wearing thin.  He wanted to get  _ out _ .  He wanted to go somewhere and do something.  He didn’t even care what.

 

First he made up a meal he wanted to have that required an ingredient they didn’t have in the house.  Then he’d found a sale going on at an obscure store downtown that didn’t offer online shopping and claimed that he absolutely needed to go.  It wasn’t until he claimed that he wanted to go look at christmas trees that Otabek realized he was making up excuses to get out of the house.

 

Before they’d had their heart to heart and opened up to each other, the realization would have sent Otabek into a tailspin of desperation and self loathing.  Instead, he tried to think of a solution.  The most obvious one was simple - just tell Yuri to spend some time out of the house.  The problem was that while Otabek had a better grasp on his abandonment issues, they were still there and they couldn’t always be reasoned with.

 

The second option was almost as problematic.  If Yuri wanted to go out, and Otabek wanted to be with Yuri, then they should go out together.  Except that meant people and situations where he was expected to behave a certain way and say certain things and there was no telling what would come out of his mouth if he opened it.  He knew he’d gotten better since the accident, and he’d been managing it fairly well since getting off the meds, but most of his success had been around Yuri.  He was comfortable around Yuri and trusted him not to react badly if he had a slip up.  There was always a chance that he would be just as awful as he had been those first weeks after the crash.

 

_ So what _ ? he tried to reason with himself.  So what if he slipped out in public. It wasn’t as though he was likely to see those people ever again.  So what if he blurted something out and people stared at him…  He felt his heart start to race just thinking about it.

 

Yuri, asleep beside him, stirred.  He mumbled something and pressed closer, wrapping his arm around Otabek’s waist.  Otabek wouldn’t be alone.  They would be out  _ together _ , and Yuri would be there to help him.  He could do this.

 

Seeking comfort perhaps more than physical release, Otabek slicked himself up and pushed inside Yuri.  For several long moments, he stayed still, letting the warm, wet heat of Yuri’s body relax him.  Then he began to thrust shallowly.  Yuri stirred, arching a little and murmuring.  Otabek slid his arm around Yuri’s waist and held him close as he continued to thrust slowly.  Yuri lifted his hand behind his head and threaded it into Otabek’s hair.  He hummed a little, let out a soft sigh, and settled back to sleep

 

Ten minutes later, Otabek fell asleep, still inside him.

 

***

 

“You’re taking me to dinner?”  Yuri looked at Otabek incredulously.  “Like, out in the big wide world?”

 

“Yep.  And you might want to wear something other than jeans.”

 

“You do realize that all I own is jeans, right?”

 

“Well jeans it is, then.  I don’t think they’ll kick us out for it.”

 

“Jesus, just how fancy is this place?”

 

Otabek shrugged.  “It’s not fast food.”

 

“That doesn’t narrow it down much,” Yuri groused, but he went to dig through the closet for something to wear.

 

Twenty minutes later he came out in snug black jeans, ankle boots and a white button up shirt that he’d left open at the collar.  Two thin braids starting at his temples held his hair back from his face.  He fidgeted as Otabek stared, realizing that Beka looked far more suave in his stupid trousers and stupid black dress shirt and stupid handsome face than Yuri could ever manage.

 

“Don’t-” Otabek’s voice was high and a little hoarse.  He cleared his throat and tried again.  “Don’t let me get us arrested by fucking you in public, okay?”

 

_ Oh _ .  Well that was kind of flattering.  Maybe he looked okay after all.  Yuri smirked.  “Last time we went out you said no to a blowjob in the taxi.  I think we’ll manage.”

 

“Just don’t blame me if I try.  And, uh,” he tugged at his collar as if it was uncomfortably tight, even though the top button was undone.  “Just, if you can, try not to let me make a scene, okay?”

 

Yuri’s eyes softened and he stepped closer, sliding his hands up Otabek’s chest and stopping to smooth out an invisible wrinkle on his shoulder.  “Well normally I’d cover for you by saying something twice as bad, but I get the feeling that would just draw more attention.  How about I’ll flash them while you make a run for it?”

 

“Can we pass on that option too?  I kind of like being the only one who gets to see your goods.”

 

“Hmm…”  Yuri thought back to how they’d gotten through their last outing.  “Then how about we pretend you’re a mafia boss and I’m your rival’s only son.  We’re having a forbidden affair like something out of Shakespeare, and you’re always ready to shoot first and ask questions later, but I hold you back so that you don’t ruin our date by getting blood on your nice shirt.”

 

Otabek laughed.  “Maybe I wore black so it won’t be noticeable.”

 

“Yes, well I’m a squeamish mafia prince and I don’t want to see any altercations tonight.  So I’ll just have to keep you in line.”

 

“I’ll try and behave,” Otabek promised.

 

They walked downtown rather than take a cab, despite the temperature, just to enjoy the fresh air.  Otabek was tense any time someone walked by them, but Yuri held his hand tightly and they made it to the shopping district with no problems.

 

It wasn’t as busy in the middle of the week as it would have been on the weekend, but there was still a crowd going about their evening business.  Otabek stared straight ahead, his face set into grim, angry looking lines that made people give him a wide berth.  Otabek stayed close to him, watching for any sign of trouble.

 

Halfway down the next block, he forgot almost entirely about watching the crowd and pressed his nose nearly to the glass of a shop.

 

“Holy shit,” he breathed.  “They must have just opened this place!  Look at that entire wall of bath bombs!”

 

“Do you, uh, want to go in?”  Otabek shifted uncomfortably next to him and it snapped Yuri back to reality.

 

“No, that’s okay.  It’s fucking crawling with people.  I think you’d have a stroke in there.  Besides, I can always get that stuff online.”

 

“You were just complaining the other day that you couldn’t smell things over the internet.  You demanded that someone invent smell-o-vision for online shopping.”

 

Yuri huffed.  “And I still think it’s a good idea, but seriously, let’s skip it.  It’s no big deal.”  His eyes strayed to a line of fancy looking shower gels but he forced them back.  Otabek sighed, then nodded and they continued on.  After a moment, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and called someone.

 

Yuri stared up at him in shock when he started speaking in a foreign language.  He said something, waited a beat, then started talking again, this time more animatedly.  There was another pause, then he said what Yuri assumed was a farewell and hung up.  He slipped his phone back in his pocket and continued on as if it was nothing out of the ordinary.  Yuri tugged on his hand sharply.

 

“Uh, what the hell was that?  I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s cool that you can speak another language, but if that was like Klingon or something, I’m going to have to seriously reevaluate the level of geek that I had pegged you at.”

 

“It was Japanese, not Klingon,” Otabek laughed.  “My- assistant, I guess you’d call him?  Except he doesn’t just deal with me, he does stuff for all the authors the publishing house considers  _ problematic _ .  Anyways, he’s Japanese and I learned it in college.  It seems to help me… filter, sometimes.  Translating what I’m about to say into another language in my head makes me think before I say it, so it cuts down on the rude shit.  Although-” he stopped, wincing.  “I did call him a pig once.”

 

Yuri chuckled.  “What, is he a fat guy?”

 

“No!  Not at all.  We were just out to lunch, and I think he stress eats and was having a bad day because he packed away like three times what I did, and that’s a feat considering he’s a pretty small guy.”

 

“Hey!  I eat a lot and I’m small.”

 

“Trust me, the two of you are nothing alike.  He’s soft spoken and timid and always very polite-”

 

“I hate him already.”

 

“Then you’ll hate him even more when I tell you he’s the other Yuri that I know.”

 

Yuri made a gagging sound.  “I’m gonna call him a piggy if I ever meet him.  Fucking name thief.”  Otabek laughed and steered them towards the restaurant door.

 

“I don’t think he really had any choice what his parents named him-” he stopped when they reached the hostess, suddenly freezing.  The hostess looked between them expectantly, her smile faltering when neither of them spoke.  “Altin,” Otabek finally bit out.

 

“Oh! Uh, that’s the reservation name?”

 

Otabek nodded.  She checked her computer again and then her smile returned.  “We have your table ready, if you want to leave your coats here, I’ll show you back.”  A surly looking teenager took their coats, gave them a ticket, then left them to follow the hostess to their table.

 

Yuri began to wonder if this hadn’t been a bad,  _ bad _ idea.  Not only was Otabek tense as a piano wire, but his obvious discomfort was making the people they passed look twice.  When they sat, he was stiff and silent.

 

“So why do you and my father hate each other?” Yuri asked suddenly.  Otabek’s brows drew together in confusion.  “I mean, other than that you head rival mafia branches.”

 

“Oh.  Well-”  he thought for a minute, coming up with a backstory for them on the fly.  “He and my father were childhood friends, but after a deal went sour, they each believed that the other betrayed them.  Actually, it was a third, up and coming gang leader who set them up, but no one knows that yet.  Then a few years ago he had my father killed and of course, everyone blamed your father.  He’s trying to start a mafia war, hoping that enough of us will kill each other off so that he can take over the entire area, but what he didn’t count on was the two of us secretly being together.”

 

Otabek had gotten so into telling the story that he jumped when the waitress came up to take their orders.  He pointed out what he wanted from the menu and managed to order a bottle of wine without having to open his mouth, which Yuri thought as actually quite a feat.  He ordered his own food, then watched Otabek visibly relax when the waitress left.

 

“So how did we get together, with our families hating each other so much?” Yuri asked.  Otabek smiled a little and spent the rest of dinner telling him the story.

 

By the time they paid the bill and left, Yuri was trying to convince Otabek that the mafia story should be his next book.  Or, not his next one, since he needed to write the sequel to the DoL offshoot, but the one after that, at least.  It was a fantastic story, not least because  _ he _ was a main character in it.  He was explaining why the book would become his best seller yet when Otabek stopped them outside the store Yuri had oogled earlier.

 

“It must have closed early.”  Yuri started to go on, but Otabek pulled him back.

 

“Not for you.”  He opened the door despite the closed sign on it and led Yuri in.  There was one sales associate behind the counter, who didn’t look shocked that they’d walked in.

 

“Mr Altin?” she asked.  Otabek raised his hand to acknowledge her.  “Take your time, sir.  We’re glad to have your business.”  She smiled cheerily, and Yuri just gaped.

 

“What did you- how did-”

 

“Being a mafia boss has it’s perks,” Otabek murmured when they were out of earshot of the sales woman.

 

“You mean being a ridiculously rich and overly generous bastard has its perks.”

 

Otabek just shrugged and waved at the isles of fancy soaps, bath oils, and spa products.  “Go.  Shop.  Smell everything.”

 

Yuri didn’t need to be told twice.  He picked up a basket and started down the aisle gleefully, dropping things in it with clear relish. 

 

When they’d finished dinner there had been plenty of time before the movie, but by the time the finished in the bath store, they had to rush to the theater and missed the previews.  Thankfully, Otabek had arranged for Yuri’s copious selections to be delivered to the house, so they were unhindered by bags except for one small one with a bottle of bubble bath that he wanted to try as soon as they got home.

 

Yuri hogged the popcorn, Otabek stole the armrest, and neither of them paid very much attention to the movie.  By the time the credits rolled, two more buttons on Yuri’s shirt had been undone and Otabek’s cock was straining against the placket of his trousers.  Both their faces were flushed, and they were in such a rush to leave the theater that they almost didn’t notice the voice calling Yuri’s name.

 

“Hey!  Yuri!”  Yuri finally turned, his eyes still dancing, his lips kiss reddened.  “I  _ knew _ that was you!  You clean up nice.”  JJ looked him over from head to toe in a way that made Otabek’s jaw clench.  “I’m just waiting for my girlfriend to come out-”

 

“Girlfriend?” Yuri scoffed.

 

“Yeah,  _ girlfriend _ ,” JJ said defensively.  “And she’s smart and hot.”

 

“And did you pick  _ her _ up in Garden Square, too?”

 

“Shut up,” JJ demanded, face mottling in anger.  “You were the one down there dressed like a who-”

 

JJ’s voice was cut off as Otabek wrapped his fingers around JJ’s neck and squeezed.  “I wouldn’t finish that sentence if I were you,” he growled, eyes narrowed to slits.  JJ choked trying to reply, his fingers scrabbling against Otabek’s iron grip.

 

“Beka.”  Yuri touched Otabek’s shoulder lightly.  Otabek looked over at him, some of the anger leaving his eyes.  “Not worth it.”

 

“ _ You’re _ worth it.”

 

“But  _ he’s _ not.  Come on.  I want to try out this stuff.”  He jiggled the bag with the bubble bath in it.  Slowly, Otabek’s grip on JJ eased, and JJ fell back, coughing and clutching his neck.

 

“You crazy so of a-”

 

“Stay away from him,” Otabek snapped.  “You’re probably just an idiot who acts like a tool to cover up massive insecurities and a small dick, but if you so much as  _ look _ at him wrong again, you’ll wish you’d been born blind by the time I’m done with you.”   JJ flinched back.  Otabek tucked Yuri under his arm and turned them away, not giving JJ a chance to reply.  A moment later, a female voice called, “JJ?  Who was that?”

 

“So apparently he wasn’t lying about the girlfriend thing.  That surprised me.”

 

Otabek didn’t reply.  “Uh, thanks for standing up for me.  I mean, technically he was right, I  _ was _ dressed like a whore, but still, it was nice of you to shut him up.”

 

“I don’t like him thinking about you that way.  Or anyone thinking about you that way.”

 

“You’ll go crazy if you try and control how people think.  And anyways, JJ’s really not worth the time.  He’s just an arrogant moron I have a few classes with.  He can think I’m the Queen of Sheba for all I care.”  Otabek gave a noncommittal hum, still not liking the situation.  They walked in silence for a few blocks.  “Beka?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“That bit you said about him wishing he’d been born blind… was that a line from  _ Wind of Sorrow _ ?”

 

“Uh-”  Otabek tugged at his collar and looked away.  “No?”

 

Yuri laughed.  “You liar!  I knew I’d heard it somewhere before!”

 

“I mean, it’s  _ my _ line.  I’m allowed to use it.”

 

“Whatever makes you feel better, scout.”  Yuri linked their arms together, still chuckling.


	14. Chapter 14

Otabek had known, somewhere in the back of his mind, that the invitation was coming.  The publishing house threw the same Christmas gala every year, and every year since the publication of  _ The Last Law _ , Otabek had been invited.  He’d only ever missed one, the previous year, and even though the party was unofficially mandatory for everyone involved, he’d been more or less excused.  Otabek still wasn’t sure what Yuuri had told the publishers to make them not bug him about going, but he’d been exceptionally grateful for it.

 

This year, though, Otabek didn’t have the same excuse.  He wasn’t entrenched in the depression of his breakup, and he wasn’t the husk of a man that the drugs turned him into.  With Yuri’s help, he’d become a reasonably functioning human being again.  Not only that, but he’d been able to write his next novel, which was going through the final stages of editing with a team from the publishing house.

 

Otabek had every reason to walk into that party with his head held high.  But as amazing of an influence as Yuri had been on him, there was no magical cure for his anxiety, and even if there  _ had _ been, Otabek wasn’t sure he could face seeing Stephan again.  And of course, Stephan would be at the gala.

 

Feeling uncomfortable in his own skin and frazzled, he went to find Yuri.  The blonde was sprawled out on the couch, reading a book.  Otabek crawled into his arms, settling his head against Yuri’s chest just below the book.  Yuri kissed his head without looking away from the page he was on, read for several more minutes until he finished the chapter, then set the book aside.

 

“What’s the matter?”

 

“I...have a thing.”  Otabek said into Yuri’s shirt.

 

“I know you do. It’s about eight inches and-”

 

“A work thing, I mean,” Otabek interrupted, rolling his eyes.  “An… event.  A  _ gala _ .”

 

“And you’re required to go?”

 

“Technically they can’t  _ make _ me do anything.  It’s not like they’ll drop me if I don’t do what they want, but let’s just say, there are very few excuses they accept for not attending, and if you don’t, they know how to hassle you until you don’t make that mistake again.”

 

“Well then, do you want to go, or want to tell them to shove it?”

 

“I…  I don’t know.  I think, with you by my side, I could… manage.  But there are other- other things that I don’t know if I’m ready to deal with.”

 

“Okay, you’re going to have to be a little less vague, because I have no fuckin clue what you’re talking about.”  Yuri urged Otabek’s head up until they could look at each other.

 

“Stephan- my ex - works at the publishing house.  He’ll be there.”

 

“ _ Oh _ .”  Yuri’s brows drew together.  “And you haven’t seen him since-”

 

“No.”

 

“And you don’t really talk about it, but I’m assuming the split wasn’t amiable?”

 

“It wasn’t  _ violent _ or anything like that.  Well, not for the most part.  There was…” he trailed off, letting his head fall forward again until his forehead was pressed to Yuri’s sternum.

 

“Let’s play truth or dare without the dare,” Yuri suggested softly.  “Tell me what happened with your ex.  The whole story.”

 

Otabek thought about telling him no.  He thought about trying to condense it all down to the barest bits.  He even thought of lying - making up a simpler story than the real one.  But Yuri deserved to hear the truth.  So instead, he shifted until he was reclining on the couch and had Yuri laying between his legs.

 

“I had been with Stephan for about a year before the accident.  It was after I was rich, but since he worked as an accountant at my publishing house, I could be pretty sure he didn’t want to be with me just for the money.  We were good together.  He was more extroverted, more adventurous, and we balanced each other out.  Our relationship wasn’t perfect, but it was  _ good _ .

 

After the crash, I was in the hospital for months.  The ICU for a long while, then inpatient, and finally a rehab place.  Stephan was with me through it all.  I couldn’t have asked for a better support system than him.  Even when I said terrible things.  Even when I had to learn how to cope with all the brain damage.

 

We had  _ laughed _ when the doctor told us about the hypersexuality. High sex drive? We can handle that. That’s what we both thought.  We’d been an active couple before the accident... But slowly, he’d realized exactly what he’d signed on for.  It wasn’t just my insane sex drive.  The impulse control had been even worse in the beginning.  He could ignore a lot of the things I said, but eventually it started to get to him.  When he couldn’t take it any more, we agreed to try the drugs the doctor suggested.

 

They were supposed to help stifle my sex drive and lower my compulsive tendencies.  But they… it was like walking around in a fog.  I felt numb all the time, and it was like I was watching events happen instead of living them.  And worse, my creativity was totally gone.  I couldn’t write.  I didn’t want to live like that.

 

So I quit the drugs cold turkey.”  Otabek felt Yuri tense in his arms and could tell that he knew how stupid that had been.  “It went about as well as you imagine it did.  I went crazy.  I started writing, but I turned into that beast you met your first week here.  Stephan didn’t understand it.  He tried to draw me out, tried to get me to stop, and I don’t remember what all I said to him, but I’ll never forget the look on his face after.

 

And suddenly I had my sex drive back, and it was like it was trying to make up for lost time.  We were having sex one night and I just… lost control.  I hurt him.”

 

“Are we talking sore for a few days hurt or ambulance ride to the hospital hurt?”

 

“God no-  I didn’t- There was some… some blood, on the sheets when we were done.  He hadn’t- he hadn’t said anything, hadn’t  _ told _ me-”  Otabek shook his head.  “But after that, he wouldn’t have sex with me again.  Or, he wouldn’t have sex with the monster inside me, as he put it.  And how could I blame him?

 

We tried, for a few days after that, but it was done.  He couldn’t take it any more.  So he left.  I tried making every promise I could make.  I got back on the pills again, I swore that I didn’t care if I never wrote again, but I think he was responsible enough to realize that it wouldn’t be a life worth living, even if I couldn’t see it then.

 

I stayed on the drugs for a while, just because the numbness was better than the pain, but when I realized he wasn’t coming back, I decided to wean myself off of them.  Properly, this time.  There was no crash, no craze, but my libido was back in full swing only this time, I didn’t have any outlet at all.”

 

“And that’s when you came looking for me.”

 

“Yes.  By then I’d closed myself off from everyone, and the social anxiety was debilitating.  I saw you down in Garden Square three times before I found the courage to talk to you.  And the rest…” he waved his hand, and Yuri nodded.  He turned so that he was facing Otabek again, their chests pressed together.

 

“Well, if you want my opinion, I say we go to this thing.”

 

“Oh yeah?”

 

“Yeah.  And when we see your ex, I’m gonna punch him in the dick.”

 

Otabek choked on a surprised laugh.  “ _ What _ ?”

 

“I’m gonna punch him in- the- dick.”  Yuri enunciated each word in case Otabek had trouble hearing him.

 

“I know what you said.  I’m trying to figure out what about that story elicited such a violent response.”

 

“Come  _ on _ Beka!  The guy was with you before, and he was fine being along for the ride when things were easy, but then they get hard and he can’t handle it?  He tells you to take drugs that suck out your soul rather than compromise a little more and make it work?  And yeah, I’m sure it sucked when you went off the meds like that, but he could have handled things differently, too.  He definitely should have  _ told _ you if the sex was getting too rough, instead of just lying back and thinking of England, then being pissed at you when it was over.

 

And don’t think I don’t see the irony of that, because I  _ do _ , but when I made that mistake, I didn’t blame you for it.  I’m an adult capable of giving consent and just as capable of taking it away.  So was he.  What’s even worse, is he used it as an excuse to cut you off, when he knew it wasn’t just something you could go without.  What did he expect you to do?”

 

“That’s skewing the facts quite a bit in my favor, Yura.  He did stick with me after the accident.  He did try to make it work.  He encouraged me to take the drugs, but he didn’t force me to.  And the sex… Of course I wish he would have said something while we were doing it.  Of course I do.  But I should  _ never _ have been that rough with him.”

 

“Bull shit,” Yuri snapped.  “Do you have any idea how easily an asshole bleeds?  You can  _ look _ at it wrong and you’ll shit red for a week.  If he walked out of that room instead of limping out, then you weren’t  _ that _ rough with him.  If he’d asked you to stop and you hadn’t, that would be different.  If he’d been seriously injured, that would be different too.  But a few drops of blood and a sore ass isn’t a reason to call you a monster and effectively end your relationship.  It was the cowardly way out.”

 

“It wasn’t that black and white-”

 

“I’m sure it wasn’t.  But it’s not like I’m an ignorant bystander.  I’ve lived with you for months now, Beka.  I’ve seen you at some pretty low fucking lows, and I didn’t run away.”

 

“It’s not the same.  I’m…  I’m  _ paying _ you to stay.”

 

“Shut your goddamn mouth, Otabek Altin.  You and I  _ both _ know this has gone way beyond that arrangement.  I stayed because I wanted to stay.

 

I might feel at times like I’m not contributing enough for all you do for me, and honestly, sometimes I’m just spreading my legs because  _ you _ need it, and not because I want it.  But I’m selfish enough to know that I’d far rather be here, doing this with you, than anywhere else.  And it might be arrogant of me, but I know you wouldn’t be better off without me.  I’m good for you, and you’re good for me, and that’s enough.”

 

Otabek searched Yuri’s eyes.  “Is it?”  The weight of his words, of what he was really asking, fell between them.  

 

Yuri took Otabek’s face in his hands, pressed their foreheads together, and breathed, “ _ yes _ .”  Otabek swallowed thickly.  He wanted to wrap this moment up in a perfect bow and remember it forever.

 

“Alright, then.  We’ll go to the gala.”  He frowned for a moment, remembering something.  “But no dick punching.”

 

Yuri laughed.  “Just try and stop me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winding down towards the end here, folks! ❤


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Side of Victuuri and tiny Ouran High reference, anyone?

The closer the gala got, the more nervous Otabek became.  Yuri did his best to distract him, but there was only so much that would work.  They went out twice more, each time Yuri coming up with characters for them and a reason they were going somewhere, then had Otabek fill in the rest of the story as the night went on.  Sometimes they acted out their parts, and sometimes telling the story was enough to relax Otabek in to enjoying himself.  At home, Yuri had them play games - both innocent ones as well as ones that ended with him being fucked on the nearest surface.

 

He let Otabek use his body as a distraction, as a way to unwind, and to satisfy his cravings, but he was also careful to see to his own needs, too.  Sometimes that meant saying they needed to wait, or getting Otabek off with a blowjob instead of sex.  He’d even been happy to discover that interspersed between their regular activities, using the cocksleeve on Otabek worked just fine - like a snack between meals, as Otabek put it.

 

And of course, Yuri was still letting Otabek fuck him at least a few times a day.  Otabek had gotten Yuri off several more times after sex by going down on him, and Yuri certainly wasn’t complaining about  _ that _ .  Not to mention that being with Otabek now legitimately turned him on.  Not after they’d started, not only if he touched himself, but just seeing him aroused, kissing him, touching him.  Yuri might not have needed release as often as Otabek did, but he wanted him just as much.

 

Otabek spent his time alternating between trying to forget the rest of the world by burying himself between Yuri’s thighs and trying to be strong and independent and distracting himself with research for his next novel.  One was certainly more pleasant than the other, but he was also proud of himself for not turning to Yuri every time.  He needed to be able to function on his own.  And while his continuous need for sex made that impractical for any long period of time, he was glad to be able to give Yuri some time to himself, even if it made him all the more intense when they were together again.

 

No matter how much Otabek wished the time until the gala would slow down, it seemed to be only speeding up, blurring by until suddenly Yuri was standing in front of him in a beautifully tailored silk tuxedo, straightening Otabek’s tie and telling him to breathe.

 

The publishing house had sent a limo for them, so at least Otabek didn’t need to try and talk to a cabbie.  In fact, with the partition up, it was almost like it was just the two of them in the vehicle.

 

“So, how about tonight I’m a very elite courtesan, and you’ve seduced me away from my lasts patron.  In a jealous fit of rage, he’s hired men to either bring me back or kill me.” 

 

“Then why are we going out and giving them the perfect opportunity to attempt it?”

 

“Because  _ I _ am incredibly spoiled and want to show off my new outfit, and  _ you _ want to show that you’re not afraid.”

 

“I’m not?”

 

Yuri shook his head.  “Nope.  Because everyone  _ thinks _ you’re just another rich businessman, but you’re  _ actually _ the Sultan, and you’ve been trained since childhood in every form of martial arts that exists.”

 

“Oh really.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Well then I’m more than prepared to protect you, aren’t I?”

 

“You are.  So we’ll dance the night away in total confidence.”

 

“What about this other patron I stole you from?”

 

“His name is Stephan, and if we see him, I’m going to punch him in the dick.” Yuri smiled widely.  Otabek laughed.

 

“No, you’re not.  What’s the point of having a dangerously trained Sultan at your side if you have to do your own punching?”

 

“Well I guess-”

 

“Besides, wouldn’t the best revenge be showing off how happy you are with your  _ new _ patron, since he’s never going to get you back?”

 

Yuri read between the lines there.  When he smiled again, it was softer.  “Yeah.  Yeah, that’s way better.”  He tucked himself against Otabek’s side and kissed him.

 

Yuri kept Otabek from going into a full anxiety attack as they walked into the crowded banquet hall by making jokes about which of the guests might be the assassins hired by Stephan.  He pointed out the fattest, or oldest, or most ridiculous looking people, then made up stories about how each of them might be in heavy disguise to deflect attention.  Otabek actually laughed out loud when Yuri claimed that the oxygen tank one old man was carting with him was actually a paralyzing agent he planned to release over the crowd later.  He laughed even harder when the little old man took a drink of his wine and his teeth fell out into the glass.  Clearly a deadly assassin, that one.

 

They took up a place against the wall to watch the crowd from afar.  Yuri had snagged glasses of champagne for them from a passing waiter, and Otabek clutched at his, fighting the urge to down it and go searching for another.  He didn’t need to be any more uninhibited than he already was by getting drunk on top of it.

 

“Otabek!”  A man in a dark blue tuxedo with soft brown eyes partially obscured by glasses stopped in front of them and greeted Otabek in Japanese.  Otabek replied in kind, then wrapped his arm around Yuri.

 

“Yuri, this is Yuuri.”

 

“Ah, the piggy name thief.”  Yuri held out his hand with a smirk.  Yuuri flushed bright red.

 

“Sorry.  He’s got about as much filter as I do,” Otabek apologized.

 

“And I don’t even have an excuse.  I’m just an asshole.”

 

Yuuri seemed to have recovered, because he smiled down at his counterpart.  “You can’t be that much of an asshole if you’ve managed to get Otabek here without a fuss.  I thought the limo driver would’ve had to drag him out.”

 

“For this little shindig?  Nah, we’re fine.  Right, Beka?”  He looked up at Otabek, who nodded faintly.  Otabek wouldn’t call the Christmas gala a ‘shindig’, nor would he say he was  _ fine _ , exactly, but he was a lot finer than he might have been if Yuri wasn’t there.

 

Yuuri looked between them for a moment, then asked Otabek something, almost hesitantly, in Japanese.  From the way Otabek replied and pulled Yuri more tightly against him, Yuri figured it out.  Yuuri  _ knew _ .  For someone who’d never been ashamed of his work, Yuri was surprised at how much it bothered him.

 

“No, I haven’t robbed him or given him the clap,” he sneered.  Yuuri had the grace to flush again.

 

“I don’t mean to be rude, please understand.  Despite how distant we may seem, we do  _ care _ about Otabek.  And even though your relationship is… unusual… if it works for you both then-”

 

“Who’s  _ we _ ?”

 

“What?”

 

“You said, ‘we care.’  Who’s  _ we _ ?”

 

“Oh!  Me and my husband.”  Yuuri pointed out a silver haired man halfway across the room who grinned and waved excitedly.  He was practically making heart eyes at the piggy.  Yuri wrinkled his nose in disgust.  “He wanted to come and say hi, but we didn’t want to make you uncomfortable by crowding you.”

 

_ Okay, that was actually very considerate of them _ .  Yuri’s scowl lessened.  “And the rest of the editing staff, too, really.  There are plenty of people who were worried about you after what happened with Stephan and-”

 

“He doesn’t need that loser,” Yuri cut in angrily.

 

“Er, yes- well that’s good.  You two do honestly seem very well suited.”

 

“Not that we needed your approval.”

 

“No, not that you did,” Yuuri acknowledged.  “Well, I’ll leave you two to it.  I’m not sure Victor will be able to contain himself if I stay any longer.”  He flashed them a smile as he walked away.  They watched him make his way across to the silver haired idiot who greeted him as though he’d been gone for five days instead of five minutes. 

 

“I knew I wouldn’t like him,” Yuri griped.

 

“He grows on you.  And I’m sorry I didn’t warn you that he knew about… about us.  He's the one that ran the background check on you when we first met, and set up the money transfers.  I didn’t even think-”

 

“It’s fine.  Not like he was rude about it or anything.  And I  _ guess _ it’s a good thing he’s trying to look out for you.”

 

“Even still.  And I’m sure he’s told Victor, because he tells Victor everything, but no one else knows.”  Yuri shrugged casually at Otabek’s assurance, but inside, he was relieved.  He already felt like an outsider surrounded by these people who’s socks cost more than Yuri’s old rent payment.  Having them know that he’d been sucking dicks in Garden Square a few months ago would have made him even more uncomfortable.  Not to mention he’d probably have gotten a few offers.  He didn’t think Otabek would handle that very well, either.

 

“Come on.  The rest of these stuffed shirts might not be eating, but I can see some fancy tuna on that buffet table that’s got my name on it.”  Yuri tugged Otabek along behind him, delving into his courtesan persona on the way to distract him from the press of people.  As they went along with their plates, Yuri demanded Otabek explain to him each ‘strange and foreign dish’ - Otabek rolled his eyes when Yuri called a bacon wrapped sausage a  _ carnivorous delight _ .  

 

Yuri had Otabek feed him the fancy tuna he’d wanted by hand -  _ I’m a very elite courtesan!  You can’t expect me to feed  _ myself _ , can you? _ \- and then they laughed as they tried to throw stuffed olives into each other’s mouths from a foot away.   _ Really, for a highly trained ruler, your throwing skills are abysmal _ .   _ Is that so?  Well for a highly trained courtesan your ability to get things in your mouth is lacking _ .  Yuri kicked his shin and gasped in mock indignation.  They had just given their empty plates to a passing waiter and Yuri was telling Otabek that he would have to build a statue in Yuri’s honor to make up for that slight, when Yuri bumped into someone.

 

“Have this peasant removed at once, Beka.  As Sultan, it is your duty to-” Yuri stopped when he saw the look on Otabek’s face.  “What’s-”  He turned, and saw the man he’d bumped into still standing there, looking surprised.

 

“Peasant?  I’ve been called a lot of things, but that’s not one of them.  I’m glad to see you came, Otabek.”  His eyes flicked to Yuri.  “And you brought a friend.”

 

Yuri didn’t need to be told to know that this was Stephan.  The way Otabek’s hands shook and his eyes shifted were enough.  He fitted himself against Otabek’s side and smiled condescendingly.  “A little more than a friend,” he corrected.

 

A small frown flitted across Stephan’s face before he smoothed it away.  “I see.  Nice to meet you.  I’m Stephan.  Otabek and I… have history.”  He held out his hand.  Yuri ignored it for a moment, turning to Otabek.

 

“Are you sure I can’t punch him in the dick?” he asked under his breath.  Otabek snorted and shook his head.

 

“Huh?”  Stephan looked between them.

 

“Nothing.”  Yuri shook his hand briefly, then drew back.  “I’ve heard all about you.”

 

Stephen laughed.  “Good things, I hope.”

 

“Oh, Otabek is very diplomatic, but I’ve made my own decisions.”  Yuri’s smile was cold.

 

Stephan shifted uncomfortably.   _ Good _ , Yuri thought.  “Uh, well that’s…” he trailed off, then cleared his throat.  “I really  _ am _ glad to see you came, Otabek.  I’d heard you were- that things had gotten worse.”

 

“They did.  For a while.  Then I met Yuri.”  Otabek’s eyes were narrowed and it was obvious he was struggling to say every word with deliberate care.

 

“And if you went back on the meds again I’m sure that helped.”

 

“He was off them again  _ before _ we met.  He doesn’t need them,” Yuri bit out.  “Not everyone he’s with is  _ frigid _ .”  Yuri knew he was going too far, but how dare this fucker bring up the drugs?

 

Stephan flinched, unprepared for Yuri’s comment. Then he stiffened, anger twisting his face.  “Well then I guess it’s a good thing this isn’t a seated event, or you probably would have been too sore to-”  Yuri lunged at him. 

 

“Shut up you fucking bastard!  You don’t deserve to even-”  Yuri struggled against the arm Otabek had pulled him away with.  “Let me go, Beka!  I’m not gonna punch him in the dick- I’m gonna punch him in his dumb fucking  _ face _ !”

 

“Jesus, Otabek, tell your cat to retract his claws.  Where the hell did you find him?  Garden Square?  He talks like a-”  Otabek let Yuri go and grabbed the collar of Stephan’s shirt, lifting him by it until Stephan was scrambling on his tip toes.  Yuri huffed a laugh.

 

“Oh, you should  _ not _ have said that.”

 

“I don’t hold what happened between us against you, Stephan,” Otabek growled, “but if you insult Yuri again, I’ll show you just how much of a monster I really can be.”

 

“Fine, fine!  Fuck, just let me go!”  Stephan pushed back against Otabek’s arm until Otabek released him.  He made a show of smoothing down his shirt.  “You need  _ help _ , Otabek.  I suggest you get it before you hurt someone.”  His eyes flicked to Yuri.  “ _ Again _ .”

 

“You mother fu-”

 

“It’s fine, Yuri.  Just leave it.”  Otabek slipped his arm around Yuri’s shoulder and turned them away.  Several people had stopped talking and were staring at them.  Otabek wanted to turn invisible.  He wished they could just disappear and show up again back home, away from strangers, away from prying eyes, away from a hundred opportunities for Otabek to offend someone or say the wrong thing or-

 

“Hey.”  Yuri stopped and put his hand on Otabek’s chest, right above his heart.  “Are you okay?”  Otabek nodded a little, not trusting himself to speak yet.  “I’m sorry I made a scene.  But that guy’s a prick.  I can’t believe he brought up the fucking drugs.  And I know I was goading him, but how dare he imply that you’d  _ hurt  _ me.  You should’ve let me punch him in the dick right off the bat.  That probably would’ve shut him up.”

 

Otabek chuckled, thinking,  _ well, he’s not wrong _ .  Instead of saying so and encouraging him, Otabek kissed Yuri’s hand.  “Dance with me?”

 

“You know how to dance?”  Yuri raised his brows when Otabek nodded.  “And you’re okay doing it in front of this many people?”

 

“You don’t have to talk to anyone else while you’re dancing.”

 

“Oh yeah.  I can see the appeal, then.  Sweep me off my feet, Sultan.”  He hooked his arm through Otabek’s dramatically and let himself be led to the dance floor.

 

Otabek really was a good dancer, moving them around with such ease that no one watching would notice that Yuri had no idea what the fuck he was doing.  Yuri found himself grinning after a few songs.

 

“Hey, this is actually pretty fun.  We should go dancing again sometime.”

 

“If you want to,” Otabek agreed.

 

“Let’s see, next time I can be a high class escort, and you can be my straight laced bodyguard. It’s supposed to be all business, but then you can’t resist my charms any more and-”

 

“Why are you a prostitute in so many of these scenarios?”

 

Yuri chuckled.  “Aside from the obvious, you mean?”  Otabek growled at him.  “Because aside from the real world parallels, it’s more  _ dramatic _ .  Every good story has the strong, stoic hero who’s out to save the damsel in distress.  Or, uh, dame?  No, that’s not right.  What’s the male version of a damsel?”

 

“Damoiseau.  Or a Gallant.  But if you’re going for real world parallels, then  _ you’re _ the hero of this story, Yura.”

 

“Oh come on, you’re the one who whisked me off the streets and put me in the lap of luxury.”

 

“You were already on your way to pulling  _ yourself _ out of that.  You didn’t need me.   _ I _ was the one who was drowning.  You’re the one who saved me.  Not the other way around.”

 

“I, what, saved you with sex and affection?”  Yuri scoffed dismissively.

 

“You saved me with  _ acceptance _ .  With the stories you make up when we go out that distract me from my fears.  With not thinking it would be better if I just took the drugs that chemically lobotomized me.  With your enthusiasm for the things my money can buy like the shower and the sheets, but not the money itself.  With how you laugh off the tactless things I say.  And,  _ yes _ , with sex and affection, too.”

 

Yuri opened his mouth to deny it, but stopped himself.  He  _ had _ given Otabek something no one else had before.  Yes, a lot of them were things that anyone who wasn’t a  _ dick _ \- aka Stephan - would have done for him, and  _ come on _ , you’d have to be an idiot not to be obsessed with that shower, but the point wasn’t that someone else  _ could _ have been there for Otabek.  It was that  _ Yuri _ was the one who had been.  He tried to hold back the smile that was tugging at his lips but failed spectacularly.  Instead, he kissed Otabek to cover it.

 

“Alright then. Next time we go out, you’ll be a mute genius who’s been kidnapped by villains trying to use your brain to take over the world, and I’ll be an elite ninja who saves you from them and then we go on the run together.  And of course I’ll seduce you along the way, because I can’t be  _ too _ much of a boy scout.”

 

“I especially like the mute part.  How about every time we go out we just pretend I’m mute?”

 

“And if by chance you say something crazy, I can gasp in astonishment and go, ‘oh my god he’s cured!’ and then no one will even remember what you said.”

 

Otabek laughed.  Yuri smirked and nestled his head under Otabek’s chin, feeling nine kinds of foolish for being such a sap.  But he couldn’t help it.  The lights on the dance floor had been lowered, and most of the other couples had cleared away.  The few who were still there were dancing just as slowly as they were to the christmas themed love song playing.  Otabek was holding him close, humming the tune down at him, making Yuri shiver every time that soft, deep baritone rolled over him.

 

The song finished and another one started.  Otabek and Yuri kept on dancing.  “Don’t run away,” Otabek whispered.

 

“Huh?”  Yuri tried to look up, but Otabek kept him where he was, tucked beneath his chin.

 

“I’m going to tell you something, and you’re probably going to think it’s my fucked up frontal lobe talking, or that I’m being rash, or that I’m making a mistake.  It’s probably going to scare you, and it might even make you feel like pitying me.  If that’s the case, I’ll feel like a fool, but we can just pretend that it never happened.  If you want, you can ignore what I’m about to say completely and we’ll go home and keep going on exactly as we have been.  Nothing has to change.  But whatever happens, however you feel, please don’t leave.  Don’t run away.”

 

Yuri felt his heart skip, then begin to pound.  “Okay,” he breathed.  “I’m not going anywhere, Beka.  Say it.”  There was a pause, and Yuri thought maybe Otabek had lost his nerve.  Maybe he’d changed his mind.  Maybe he-

 

“I love you.”  The whispered words hung in the air, sweet and soft and clear.  Then, louder, “I’m in love with you, Yura.”  Otabek’s arms tightened around him, and Yuri realized they’d stopped dancing.  They were standing in the middle of the ball room, holding each other while soft music played and other couples swayed around them.  In the stillness, Yuri noticed that Otabek was holding his breath.

 

“You know one of the reasons I’ve never minded the way you talk?  Your lack of filter?  It’s because you say what’s on your mind, even if it’s not what someone wants to hear.  I like that kind of raw honesty.  It may be your frontal lobe making you say them out loud, but it doesn’t lie.  You don’t lie.  And you don’t judge.  And you don’t fake anything.”  Yuri’s voice wavered, but he forced it to grow steady again.  “Maybe you’re impulsive and you’ve got your issues, but they are such a small part of who you are.  I said before that you’re good for me and I’m good for you and that’s enough, but that’s not  _ enough _ .  That’s  _ everything _ .  And if you’re a fool for loving me, well then we can both be blissful fools together.  Because I guess… because dammit, I love you too.”

 

Otabek’s hold on him tightened almost to the point of pain, but it was the best thing Yuri had ever felt.  “Yura-”

 

“Don’t,” Yuri warned him.  “Don’t go and say something sweet and sappy and make me melt all over this goddamn dance floor.  Don’t say a word.  Just take me home and fuck me like you  _ own _ me and in the morning we can redraw our lines.  But not tonight.  Tonight I just want to be yours, totally and completely.”

 

Otabek looked at him silently, but that one look said more than spoken words ever could.  It  _ burned _ him.  Then Otabek nodded, took Yuri’s hand, and led them outside.  They made it to one of the limos - was that a flash of Yuuri and Victor having sex in the back of a pink convertible? - and Yuri barely had the chance to choke out the address of where to take them before Otabek was on him.  They kissed like it was the first time, or maybe the last, wild and desperate and deep.  Yuri’s hand found its way under Otabek’s shirt and his blunt nails scratched down Otabek’s back hard enough to make him groan.

 

By the time they stopped in front of their building, Yuri’s tie was dangling from his neck, Otabek’s belt was unbuckled, and they were both half mad with lust.  The limo driver kept his eyes politely forward.  They stumbled through the door and then Otabek picked Yuri up and backed him against the wall.  Yuri laced his fingers into Otabek’s hair and  _ tugged _ , hooking his legs around Otabek’s waist to bring their erections together.

 

Whatever restraint Otabek had left snapped.  He managed to get them into the elevator and then practically tore Yuri’s pants off.  His fingers clutched Yuri’s ass as he hitched him up until he could pin Yuri against the elevator doors, but he groaned in frustration when he remembered he didn't have any-

 

“Jacket pocket,” Yuri whispered.

 

“Huh?”

 

“Jacket pocket.  My right jacket pocket.  Now!”

 

Otabek reached in and came out holding a packet of lube.  He stared at Yuri in astonishment, breathing hard.  Yuri quirked a smile at him.  “What?  I knew I looked too good in this tux not to get fucked.”

 

“God I love you.”  Otabek tore open the packet with his teeth, making a mess as he spread the lube over his cock, then more on his fingers, pushing inside Yuri until he arched and moaned.

 

“Now.  Fuck me now!”

 

Otabek didn’t need to be told twice.  He pinned Yuri’s hips against the elevator doors and sank slowly inside of him.  Yuri hissed, the burn of Otabek’s cock stretching him making his own erection throb in pleasure.  God, he really was a slut for this, for the feeling of Otabek filling him, pushing his body right to the limit, the juxtaposition of pain and pleasure making him want to scream for more while Otabek fucked him against the wall.

 

Neither of them heard the ding of the elevator arriving at their floor, and they almost fell through the doors when they opened.  Yuri laughed as Otabek righted them, joy and pleasure and love making him feel as if every little thing - their near fall, Otabek’s slacks falling further and further down his legs till all he could do was shuffle forward, the scrabble to get the door open - was perfect and right and meant to be.

 

And then they’d made it to the bed and Otabek was pressing him down onto it, his weight blanketing Yuri as he began to thrust again.  It was sweet and sharp and so overwhelming that Yuri thought he might  _ burst _ .  Three more thrusts and he did, coming between them with Otabek’s hand curled around his cock.  He felt Otabek pulsing inside of him but knew they weren’t done.  Not by a long shot.  He smiled, letting the lazy, blissed out feeling make his limbs pliant as Otabek pushed his knees to his shoulders and started fucking him all over again.

 

“Mine,” he whispered, so low it sounded like an invocation.

  
_ Yours _ , Yuri thought.   _ Always. _


	16. Chapter 16

Christmas morning came with a pile of thick snow that made Yuri glad he didn’t have to go out into it.  He stretched, pleasantly sore from the four - no five, no wait, four, that last one didn’t count, did it? - rounds of sex they’d had the night before.  Otabek was sprawled face first on the bed, his head bent at an angle that was making him snore lightly.  Yuri snickered, then went to take a well earned shower.

 

When he was done, he dried off, tied a big christmas ribbon around his torso, and got back in bed.  Otabek shifted, blinking awake.  When he saw Yuri on his side with his head propped in his hand, one knee bent up, and the bright red bow around his middle, he grinned.

 

“Merry christmas to  _ me _ .”

 

“Technically you opened your present last night, but I thought I’d give you the chance to do it again this morning.”

 

“Pretty sure I opened you enough times last night to have you walking sideways for a week.”

 

“Well, yes.  But I’m sure that a christmas blowjob counts just as well.”

 

“I’m certainly not going to complain.”

 

“Shower first, though.  And I think we’re gonna need to change these sheets, too.  There’s more spunk on these sheets than on a brothel floor.”

 

“I’ll change them after breakfast,” Otabek promised, sitting up and stretching.  His shoulders popped loudly, then his knees did too as he stood.  “Jesus, you’d think I was ancient, the way my body’s creaking.”

 

“Not ancient, just overworked,” Yuri grinned.  Otabek agreed, then padded off towards the bathroom.  He returned a moment later, pressing a soft kiss to Yuri’s forehead.

 

“I love you.”

 

Yuri blushed.  “I love you too.  Now get going, you big sap.”

 

***

 

Christmas breakfast was Belgian waffles with whipped cream and strawberries, bacon curled into little rosettes, and fresh squeezed orange juice.  Yuri especially liked the fresh juice.  The juice itself was good, but what was better was watching the way Otabek’s arms flexed as he squeezed the orange halves.

 

They cuddled together on the couch after they’d both eaten far too much.  Yuri waited to see if Otabek would bring it up, but Otabek seemed to be waiting for Yuri to start.  He resisted the urge to scowl at that.

 

“So.”

 

“So,” Otabek replied, looking relieved.

 

“We’ve apparently decided to go and ruin a perfectly good working relationship by falling in love with each other.”

 

“Oh calamity.”

 

“Exactly.  So now we have to be all  _ responsible _ and discuss what the fuck we do next.”  Otabek opened his mouth but Yuri cut him off with a mock glower.  “And no, sex is not the answer.”

 

“Damnit.”

 

“First things first.  What are we?”

 

“Everything,” Otabek answered quickly.

 

“That means exactly nothing.  Are we still employer and employee, are we lovers, are we dating, are we those people that are so emotionally dense that they just live together and sleep together as ‘friends’?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Yuri glared for real this time.  “Try again.”

 

“I just mean- things have changed, yes, but I’m also hoping that they  _ don’t _ change.  I like how this has been.  So let’s be lovers or boyfriends or friends with benefits or whatever you’re comfortable calling it.  As long as you’re here, I’ll be happy.”

 

“That’s great and sweet and all, but I’m pretty sure most lovers don’t pay each other, so either we’ll have a really unconventional relationship or some things  _ do _ have to change.”

 

“I don’t really care if what we have is unconventional.  Unless it bothers you.  I don’t want you to feel…  _ kept _ , or like our relationship is cheap-”

 

“I know better than that.  But I also want to make sure you know that I’m staying because I want to, and not because you’re paying me.  I was thinking, without rent or utilities - assuming neither of us is stupid enough to think I should move out - I could probably afford stuff like my phone bill and toothpaste if I had just a part time job…”

 

Otabek grimaced.  “I’d never see you.  If you’re in class all day and working in the evenings, we’d be lucky to get weekends together.  Plus, you’d be exhausted.  There’s no reason for it.”

 

“But I-”

 

“I’ve got more money than I know what to do with.  Literally.  What I  _ do _ know I want is to spend time with you.  So why not just let me pay for it all for now?  I can take care of you until you get your degree and then you can be a rich and famous architect and pay for everything you want.”

 

“I don’t have any moral problems with that or anything, as long as you’re not going to resent me for it later.  It matters to me that you know I love  _ you _ and not your money.  Well, I mean, I do love money.  Money is food and a place to live and if you’ve got enough of it, money is a shower that transports you to arcadia and sheets made out of bunny ears and kitten toes.  But the point is that I’d love you even without it.”

 

Otabek laughed.  “Okay, we’re clear on that, then.  I didn’t doubt it, but I’ll never pass up an opportunity to hear you say you love me.”

 

“I, uh, I do think it’s… weird, to have you pay for everything  _ and _ put money in my account every week.”  When had he turned into such a goody-two-shoes?  Free money was free money.  But still…

 

“I could just add you to my account.  Then you can use it when you need to.”

 

“Dude, it’s been like five months.  Don’t you think that’s a little… rash?”

 

“I have an excuse to be impulsive, remember?”  Otabek made a face when Yuri just pursed his lips.  “Fine, how about I have the bank give you a card for my account?  You’re not on it yet, but you have access to it.  I trust you to not clean me out and disappear into the night, and you trust me to  _ want _ you to buy light up sketchers or glow-in-the-dark sex toys or whatever your little heart desires.”

 

“I want to laugh at those examples, but I get the feeling that both of those are in our future.”

 

“I certainly hope so,” Otabek said, pulling Yuri close.  “Anything else we need to iron out before I give you your christmas present?”

 

“I’m sure there’s shit I’m forgetting, but fuck it.  I want my present!”

 

“I thought you might.  Here.”  Otabek pulled an envelope from the side table and handed it to Yuri. It was a festive red, but otherwise dubiously official looking.  Yuri tore it open and started reading the papers inside.

 

He barely got through half of the first one before he looked up, shocked.

 

“You’re… hiring me?”

 

Otabek nodded hesitantly.  “I know it's not really a great  _ present _ , but I want to be the first one to give you an architecture job.  It's not the same as getting to design a whole building, but you'll have total carte blanche on those floors to set them up however you see fit.  There's no deadline, so you can take as much time as you like coming up with ideas. And there's no budget.  Whatever you want, you can have.”  Otabek’s speech ran out, and Yuri was still staring at him.  Heat began to creep up Otabek’s neck. 

 

_ Fuck _ . This had been a terrible idea. Why had he thought that giving Yuri  _ work _ was a good Christmas present? 

 

Those floors would belong to Yuri when he was done building them. Maybe he should have led with that.  But he’d been afraid Yuri would balk at the idea.  Otabek opened his mouth to clarify just as Yuri launched himself across the couch at him.

 

He crashed against Otabek’s chest, still clutching the contract.  “Yura, I-”

 

“You fucking bastard,” Yuri sniffed.  Otabek stiffened in alarm. Was Yuri  _ crying?   _ “That's not fucking fair!”

 

“What? Yura, I'm sorry, I don't-”

 

“Shut up!  You don't have anything to be sorry for, you asshole!”  He pulled back, his eyes still bright but scowling.  His lips were twitching into a smile, though.  Otabek was so confused.

 

“Then why are you crying and calling me names?”

 

“I am  _ not _ crying, you idiot,” Yuri insisted as he wiped his nose conspicuously.  “And I'm calling you names because this is the best fucking present anyone's ever given me and yours looks really shitty in comparison.  Bastard.”  He huffed a laugh and wiped his nose again.

 

Otabek’s relief was palpable.  A slow smile spread across his face.  “Oh.”  It deepened. Turned into a downright grin.  He'd done okay.  Yuri was  _ happy _ .  Yuri loved him and was happy.  Otabek didn't think anything could be better.  “Your present was  _ not _ shitty, I want to point out.  I was  _ very _ pleased with it.”

 

“Sex wasn't really your present, Beka,” Yuri said in fond exasperation.

 

“It wasn't?”

 

Yuri rolled his eyes.  “Of course not.  You get that whenever you want.  How is that a present?”

 

“Every time with you is a gift, Yura.”  Otabek raised his hand to cup Yuri’s jaw, but Yuri knocked it away.

 

“Oh no.  No you don't.  You're not going to give me the best fucking gift and then be incredibly fucking romantic on top of it.  At least not till I've given you your present and we can both wallow in how much I suck.  Hold on.”  He pushed off the couch still clutching the contract to his chest and went into the guest room.  A moment later he returned with a small black box that he pushed at Otabek.

 

Hesitantly, Otabek opened it. Inside was a slightly smaller velvet box.  A jeweler’s box?  Oh god, what if Yuri had bought him a ring? Did he want them to get married?  Yes it was fast, but suddenly, Otabek had never been more sure of anything in his life.  So what if he had impulse control issues?  He was  _ sure _ about them.  If there was a ring in this box, be was going to say yes without hesitation and -

 

\- and it was way too big to be a ring box.  It was flat and rectangular, where a ring box would be more of a cube.  And they'd only just confessed their feelings to each other the night before.   Why would Yuri have already bought a ring before that?

 

So no, it wouldn't be a ring. And yes, Otabek had let his compulsiveness and his heart get about a dozen steps ahead of him.  But now the idea was there.  And it wasn't going away.  He and Yuri belonged together.  He wouldn't rush, wouldn't risk screwing this up.  But someday, when they were really ready, Yuri Plisetsky was going to be his husband.

 

Otabek opened the velvet box.  Inside was a silver pocket watch.  There was a swooping, elegant engraving of a tree on the front.  Surprised and delighted, Otabek pressed the release and the watch popped open.  The face was bare, designed so that the gears showed through.  It was already wound, and he could see a hundred tiny movements as the seconds ticked by.

 

It was so intriguing that he almost didn't see the inscription on the inside.

 

_ “You are more than my companion, more than my friend.  You are the blood in my veins and the heart in my chest.  If you ever again doubt my devotion, look at this and be reassured; I want no riches, no kingdom, no life, without you to share it.” _

 

“Yura…”  Otabek looked up in shock.  That quote was  _ his _ .  It was from  _ Hidden Kingdom _ , a tiny, insignificant bit of dialogue between the Secret Keeper and Prince Frederick.  Either Yuri was a bigger fan of his than he'd admitted, or he'd re-read the entire series looking for the perfect quote.  Either way, Otabek was stunned.

 

If Yuri hadn't confessed his love the night before, this would have done it for him.

 

“I told you it wasn't as good as yours,” Yuri muttered.

 

“You're an idiot,” Otabek informed him with a smile.  “This isn't  _ good _ .  This is  _ perfect _ .  I love it, Yura.  Seriously.  This is -” he stopped, pulling the pocket watch out of the box and admiring the inscription again.  “It's incredible.  Thank you.”

 

Otabek knew whatever descriptions he used wouldn't be enough.  There wasn't a proper way to express how happy he was.  How grateful.  Not with words, anyways.  Instead, he pulled Yuri to him and kissed him.

  
  


***

 

“How about this time you’re a sorcerer, and I’m your apprentice, and this is the final ceremony I have to go through before I’m made a full fledged sorcerer, too.  And the ceremony takes place in this really dangerous area with all these dastardly villains around, but we both really want me to complete it because then we can finally make our previously forbidden love affair known to the world.”

 

“Or how about instead you’re a brilliant and talented architect about to graduate with honors and job offers from three of the biggest firms in the city, and I’m your socially awkward but incredibly proud fiance?”

 

Yuri frowned.  “I’m serious.  I know you’ve been doing really well, but there are going to be a ton of people there and I’ll be stuck up in the line instead of sitting with you.”

 

“I know, love.  But Victor and Yuuri will be there, too.  If the mute bit doesn’t work, I can always pretend that Yuuri and I only speak Japanese.  Then Victor can do all the talking.”

 

“God help us all,” Yuri muttered.

 

“He’s not that bad,” Otabek said with a laugh.  “Just the other day you said he was like the father you never had.”

 

“I was  _ trying _ to insinuate that he’s  _ old _ , not that he’s  _ family _ .”

 

“Sure you were.”

 

“Shut up and help me with this stupid tie,” Yuri growled.

 

“Fine, but only because you asked so nicely.”  Otabek obligingly straightened Yuri’s tie, then tucked a strand of hair behind his ear.

 

“I thought it was because you love me.”

 

“That too.”  Otabek kissed him softly.  “And because I’m so, so incredibly proud of you.”

 

“I  _ am _ pretty awesome.”  Yuri’s grin was cocky and a little abashed at the same time.

 

“You’re  _ amazing _ .  I’m so lucky to have you in my life.”

 

“Yeah, well I think I’m the lucky one.  After all, I’ll be marrying the world famous, fabulously wealthy author of the  _ Dagger of Lies  _ and _ Redemption of the Fallen _ series this Christmas.”

 

“Not to mention an anthology of tawdry short stories that  _ you _ came up with.”

 

“Exactly.”

 

“Maybe we’re both lucky, then.”

  
“I can live with that,” Yuri agreed.  They kissed, then headed out the door to the rest of their lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there, friends! Thank you so much for sticking with this story. I've loved all the wonderful, supportive comments you've left, and I'll love every one left after.
> 
> I'm so glad you've all put up with my sloppy Sword of Truth and other nerdy pop culture references, and even my incredibly arrogant reference to one of my own works, The Bodyguard. This story was a blast to write and a joy to share.
> 
> Feel free to stop by my Tumblr (I'm ArabellaFaith on there) if you ever want to say hi, see the nerdy stuff I reblog, or catch any updates about my original works. ❤ ❤ ❤


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